Forgotten
by TsukikoUchu
Summary: Naru's back in Japan, SPR is reopened but the members notice an integral part of their life missing, no ones able to get hold of her, Mai's in uni and what's this about being raped and having a toddler, find out in Forgotten
1. Prologue

**~Authors Note.**

**Hey so you see another new story, not of the norm, this is my first attempt at a Ghost Hunt Story, I'm not very good at descriptions or anything of the like but I'm really hoping that I'll actually get this one done.**

**Anyway I hope you enjoy the prologue to Forgotten, it was the only thing that popped into mind for a title but your welcome to submit story title idea's, but anyway again enjoy, there will be a new chapter very soon.**

**End Authors Note~**

It had been four long years since they'd stepped foot in Japan "Lin you have called to inform everyone of our return correct" Naru or rather Kazuya Shibuya as was his Japanese name asked without preamble.

Not wanting to waste time in making sure that the others he'd previously been involved with knew he was back and preparing to reopen SPR "Everyone but Taniyama-san, who hasn't answered any of my voice-mails that I've left" Koujo Lin said.

A frown creasing his forehead that he hadn't been able to get in contact with the young woman who'd formerly been Naru's assistant and a member of their team, he had this uncanny feeling that something had happened to Mai.

His shiki happened to agree with him "Call her again, we'll figure out things later" Naru commanded, sparing a fleeting thought to the whereabouts of Mai, or what she may or may not be doing before focusing on his reason for returning to Japan.

Lin nodded silently at the command and dialed the number he'd looked up for the young woman in question, only to get sent straight to voice-mail yet again, after leaving another, probably the third or second because he didn't remember leaving a voice-mail the first time.

With business concluded, he and Naru went to the old building they'd used originally and two days later reopened for business, among those celebrating their miraculous reopening were Houshou Takigawa, Ayako Matsuzaki, Masako Hara and John Brown.

The one person noticeably absent was Mai Taniyama "Have any of you had contact with Mai since we left" Naru, who was growing rather frustrated with his assistants inability to get in contact with the girl asked those gathered in the office.

Each of them shook their head "No, in fact it was like she simply just disappeared" Ayako, the one he thought would keep an eye on the girl, shrugged as if she didn't care, Lin saw the action as he did and they both shared a concerned glance with one another.

"Yeah that's weird now that I think about it" Houshou frowned, stomach twisting itself in knots as dread filled him, he feared the consequences of not checking up on the girl he thought of as a little sister now and he decided right then that no matter what he was going to find her.

No matter what he had to go through, off to the side Masako covered her mouth with her kimono sleeve "Perhaps she simply doesn't want to come back did you think about that Naru" Masako asked making the others think.

Naru and Lin knew though that Mai had loved her job before they'd had to leave and return to England to bury his twin "If that were the case, why didn't she answer any of our calls" John interrupted, one of the few who'd tried to keep in contact.

But it was like 3 months after Naru and Lin had left she'd simply stopped responding to any of his concerned phone calls, in fact he'd even been to her apartment to check up on her but that had ended in failure when the owner of the building had said she'd moved.

Just then a knock came on the office door, in stepped another familiar face Osamu Yasuhara "Guess we have a full house, huh where's Mai, I thought you would have called her to, so that she could be here" Yasuhara looked around only to note what everyone else already had.

Mai's absence when his question was answered with the affirmative that Mai had indeed been called all of them began to wander what had happened, why was Mai ignoring them and suddenly dread filled them, so began their first case upon their return.

~Meanwhile~

During this moment of realization for the members of the newly reopened SPR, Mai Taniyama now a young woman of 19 sat at a desk, blearily staring at her university textbook trying to finish her homework.

Right as she was dozing off, a cry from a toddler sounded throughout the little apartment she was able to afford somehow, immediately she was wide awake and alert, followed by more cries, Mai was on her feet in three seconds, making a mess.

As she tore from her room to the one across the hall where a three year old girl was sitting up in her crib crying "Oh it's okay, hush now Shion, there, there just a dream" Mai whispered repeated assurances to her three year old daughter.

Until the mahogany haired toddler settled once more, doe eyes shutting to drift off in another hopefully this time more restful sleep, Mai sighed softly and carefully deposited Shion in her crib and exited the toddlers room quietly.

Leaving the doors cracked open just in case as she returned to trying to get her homework done, by the time it was midnight, all of her schoolwork was finished and after checking on Shion one last time went to bed herself.

Dreaming of what her life would be like if not for that fateful day in which she'd been raped and the subsequent months of finding out she was pregnant, never missing the little green light flashing indicating she'd missed several phone-calls as she drifted off into a deep slumber.


	2. Case 1: Mai Taniyama (Part 1)

The following morning a familiar yet annoying noise blared loudly in her ears "I'm up, I'm up" Mai shot out of bed like a bullet only to realize she'd freaked out for nothing, with a tired sigh she turned off her alarm and looked around realizing she hadn't cleaned up the mess from last night.

So set out to tidying up a bit before Shion demanded her attention like usual in the nick of time to as she was tapping the last of the papers that had been scattered in her haste last night a cry from Shion indicated the three year old was awake and ready for breakfast.

Dropping the stack of papers carefully on her desk Mai raced from her room to Shion's who reached for immediately "Alright time for breakfast, hmm what sounds good" Mai cheered bouncing the little girl on her hip earning a squeal of delight from the movements.

While outwardly musing what she should make for their morning meal in just a few minutes breakfast was decided upon "Cereal it is" Mai declared putting Shion in her highchair before bustling around the kitchen.

Soon enough a couple handfuls of cheerios were piled on the tray to Shion's highchair with a sippy cup of milk, while she herself had orange juice with her cereal and for fifteen minutes there was blissful silence as the toddler was to focused on her meal to make any sort of noise.

All that ended when a knock resounded through her apartment from the door disturbing Shion from her task of eating and prompting the little girl to start babbling, another sigh escaped from Mai as she tackled the highchair intent on getting her daughter out of it.

Before going to answer the door "Thought for sure you were never going to open" Michiru, her best friend since high-school, rolled her eyes in mock annoyance knowing that wrestling with a growing toddler couldn't be easy for the teenager.

Mai laughed awkwardly "Had a bit of trouble with the tray on the highchair thanks again Michiru for doing this" Mai admitted, heading back into the kitchen intent on finishing up breakfast, she'd just stop at one of the stores to buy lunch.

"Nonsense Mai you need to get out more other than just going to college or that awful part-time job you have, you were happier with that SPR business, plus you know Akira and I adore Shion" Michiru waved the other girls concerns off.

Earning a genuine smile "Don't I know it, I swear she always comes back on some kind of sugar high whenever I leave her with you and Akira and yeah but it was the only place close by that would hire and you know SPR closed like four years ago" Mai sighed.

Flashing back to happier days before that incident three months after everyone had left "You still miss it now hurry up and get going before your late, also don't forget to take your phone this time and actually check the messages or voice-mails for once" Michiru scolded.

Rushing her friend who shoveled the rest of her cereal into her mouth, drained her juice then shot off down the hall to her room to dress in the universities uniform, grab her backpack, make sure everything was in it, snag her phone as an afterthought then rush back to the living room.

"Okay have a good day with Michiru, Shion and I'll see you after my shift at the restaurant" Mai pressed a kiss to her daughter's forehead, waved to Michiru ever grateful for the girls continued presence in her life, tugged on her sneakers and dashed out of her apartment.

Knowing that if Michiru went out she would lock the door with the extra key she had, along the way Mai decided to check her phone and see what kind of messages or voice-mail she'd received, but when she heard distinctly familiar voice in her ear, she hurriedly turned her phone off again.

Shocked wasn't even the word she would use to describe how she felt about getting a call from Naru's bodyguard let alone knowing that SPR was reopened as of yesterday inviting her back, some small part of her told her yes, but the other part.

The resentful part of her said they'd abandoned her, though John had made a valiant attempt to keep in touch it had only been phone calls, he'd never once thought to make time to come visit as far as she was aware.

What she was going to do about it so far she had no clue and she had bigger things to worry about than her past especially with all the work she had being a college student, a mother and having a part-time job all at the same time.

~Meanwhile~

Back at the office the other members of SPR had set to work on finding her not that she was aware "Alright so who was the last person to have any sort of contact with Mai and when" Naru demanded to know, Lin at his side, laptop ready and poised to start typing anything of importance.

John raised his hand "Up until three months after you left four years ago, then she stopped answering my calls, when I made a visit to her apartment the landlord said Mai had just up and moved with no reason as to why just that she had" John explained.

Followed by the sound of typing as Lin readily typed up all the information that he'd just supplied to them "What about going to talk to her high-school principal" Ayako suggested, considering the favor the man owed them for that case.

"Good idea but what if he refuses to tell us anything you know those files are probably confidential" Houshou interjected, though it was probably their best shot for now, other options would have to be put on the table.

Naru let out an aggravated sigh the amount of information so far had been lackluster "Or tracing her number to find her location Naru" Masako added, wanting the investigation to the annoying slightly older girl to end already.

Despite her slight concern that Mai refused to return any sort of call "Might be the only lead we have but as an afterthought" Yasuhara nodded in reluctant agreement, more than a little worried, even though he was over his crush on the girl.

Though he certainly didn't want to go breaking any sort of laws in order to find his friend "Anything else" Lin inquired, pausing in his frantic typing, while ordering one of his five shiki to search for Mai.

Utter silence, that was literally all the information anyone had on Mai "For now we'll start by asking around, everyone you know your task" Naru snapped a book close, commanding the others to start their search and feeling less at home than he thought he would.

All because of Mai, at his command though the others on the team disappeared from the office, predictably Ayako went straight to Mai's old high-school, Houshou on her heels "It probably won't work" the Monk reminded.

When they arrived at their destination "But its one of the few leads we do have, it may not seem like it but I'm worried, anything could have happened and we all just left her to fend for herself" the Miko scowled infuriated with herself.

Soon enough the two of them were knocking on the principals office door, as soon as they entered he looked stricken with panic at the sight of them "Please tell me you aren't here to tell me ghosts have started haunted the school again" the principal asked fearfully.

Both adults shook their heads "No we'd like any information you might be willing to share with us about Mai Taniyama, you see we'd like to get in contact with her but we have no idea where she might be" Ayako pasted on her best smile in hopes of charming the information out of the man.

Next to her Houshou rolled his eyes "Taniyama-san, you mean to say you don't know, poor girl was attacked on her way home one night, it was a real tragedy, she wasn't the same afterwards, her current whereabouts and address, hmm" the principal stood.

Sharing what little he did know about the girl, though the rest of the story wasn't his to share "Attacked, by what, did she tell anyone" Houshou choked, that same feeling from the day before hitting him in the stomach like a sack of rocks.

"Yes attacked and that is for her to tell you, it's not my place, everyone knew of course and we did our best to make her comfortable, sorry but it seems I don't have her current address on any of the files, only the one after she initially moved out the apartment" the principal nodded sternly.

Apologizing as he didn't have what they wanted, though they did write down the last known address intent on checking there next, the others of the team weren't faring so well as each person they talked to, they hit a dead end.

Hours later the lot of them trudged back to the office, exhausted and frustrated at the lack of information they'd been able to gather "Well" Naru raised a brow demanding to know what they'd found while they'd been gone.

"All we could get out of people was that Mai, three months after our departure, was attacked, they wouldn't tell us by who or what" Masako sniffed delicately, irritated, but growing increasingly worried, Mai had needed them but they'd all left her to fend for herself.

Luck was shining down on them though "We got her current address, it's all the way across town, near that university" Ayako announced in a haughty tone, pleased that she and Houshou had managed what no one else had been able to.

"University, you don't mean the one that offers courses on criminology do you" Yasuhara piped in, easily remembering what other courses the university offered and he wondered why Mai would choose an apartment so close by, unless she was going there herself.

Ayako nodded "The very same and our Mai happens to be a student, other than that we got the same dead end, the principal told us that it was a real tragedy and that she wasn't the same afterwards" Houshou chimed in.

Proud of the young woman Mai had become in their absence even if he didn't know why she was ignoring them like she was, perhaps she wasn't doing it on purpose, they didn't know, but what he did know was that they were going to rectify their mistake and bring her back into the business.

No matter what they had to do "That just leaves actually making the trip across town to see her" John commented, inwardly relieved that they'd managed to find her, though with less information than he wanted.

"Leave that to me" Lin cleared his throat reminding them all that the man was still there typing away on his computer, Naru dismissed them for the night and they all scrambled back to their own homes, mentally trying to prepare themselves for what they'd find when they saw Mai.

Speaking of, Mai herself had only just gotten home "Thank kami, Shion has been rather obstinate since awhile ago" Michiru groaned heaving the toddler into her arms as Mai dropped her backpack and toed off her sneakers.

Only to receive her daughter in the next moment "Aww are you being obstinate" Mai snickered softly, but frowned when Shion's attention was focused on something that she could see, a chill crawled down her spine in response.

"Right good luck, she's been like that for a couple of hours" Michiru grimaced, just a little weirded out, Mai's daughter was special like her mother was but being unable to see the same things as the girl just freaked her out continuously.

Mai sighed "Thanks again Michiru…..Shion I swear I won't allow whatever it is to hurt you" Mai waved to her friend before shutting and bolting the door, making a promise to protect her daughter no matter what as she offered up a prayer in hopes whatever it was would move on.

It had happened more than once, spirits seeking her out, all non-violent thankfully but she could never be to careful especially with a toddler to look after now, Shion squealed happily in response, a fascinated look in her doe irises.

Before whatever was hanging about decided to leave, leaving the family of two to sit down and eat dinner, while Mai simultaneously worked on her homework for the several classes she had at the university until they both headed to bed.

~Meanwhile~

Lin felt the shiki he'd sent to look for Mai return to him in the safety of his and Naru's apartment, imagine his surprise when the demon informed him of what he'd found and now he definitely wanted to get to the bottom of things and why or how Mai had a child.


	3. Case 1: Mai Taniyama (Part 2)

Morning dawned quickly for the members of SPR as they rushed around preparing things to make a trip across town to find out what had happened to Mai "Are we really doing this, if Mai is indeed a student at that university, we'll be waiting the whole day" Masako sniffed.

Less than amused at the idea of sitting around waiting when they could be doing things that were productive "Even if that's the case, so be it" Naru grunted, not happy in the least that he'd had to do all this work just to find Mai.

Houshou made a face in response "I do got to wonder why Mai chose that university of all universities and how she even got in" Houshou mused as the lot of them piled into the vehicles, he just so happened to be sharing with Lin and Naru.

While Osamu actually had his own van to cart people around in now, John, Masako and Ayako climbed into Yasuhara's and off they went "Takigawa made a good point why would Mai choose that university and how did she get in" Yasuhara pointed out.

Trying to make conversation with his companions "Perhaps it has to do with being attacked like she was" Ayako offered in answer not to sure herself as she stared out the windows of the van, lost in thought and not paying any attention at all really.

"Did anyone think that maybe Mai doesn't want us to know and is deliberately ignoring us" Masako snipped out, mouth covered with her kimono sleeve, that thought though left a decidedly nasty taste in her mouth.

Behind them "Still we are her friends and I'd like to know why she cut off contact, I could have helped her at the very least" John chimed in, no one in the car had an answer for him and the rest of the ride was made in utter silence.

By the time they arrived in the parking lot to the apartment building Mai lived in, Mai was well into her first class of the day computer science, Naru noticed his assistants increasing rigidity as they approached the door to the apartment Mai occupied.

Like he was bracing himself for whatever they would find on the other side and trying not to be to shocked, he did the honors of knocking only to have his breath knocked out of him as the door opened and his indigo orbs were met with familiar doe brown.

Only this pair belonged to a toddler of only three if he had to guess the child's age "Kazuya" Michiru asked in confusion, and Naru recognized her as one of Mai's friends who'd been in the classroom that one time telling ghost stories.

"Yes, this is Mai Taniyama's apartment isn't it" he creased his brows, already feeling the beginning of anger boiling in his veins for screwing up the only lead they'd had to find the missing teenager.

Michiru nodded her head in answer to his question, shifting to make the toddler attached to her hip more comfortable and herself as well "Then what are you doing here" Lin skipped right to the question they all wanted answered.

Though he wasn't as shocked as he thought he'd be seeing the child that bore an eerie resemblance to Mai, the realization was startling as it hit him all at once before the young woman ever told them.

"Well I'm babysitting for Mai, this is Shion Taniyama, Mai's daughter, don't tell me you didn't know" Michiru announced, only to frown seeing the looks of confusion among Mai's former co-workers, in unrehearsed unison, they all shook their head indicating no they didn't or hadn't known at all.

And suddenly everything made sense, the distance that had been created, the tragedy the principal had said had happened, how Mai hadn't been the same afterwards, she'd been raped, gotten pregnant, all right after they'd left.

It was a blow for the entire group "Your sure she wasn't adopted" Houshou swallowed thickly wanting his assumption to be correct instead of the alternative, Michiru nodded, grim-faced as she shifted yet again.

Until making the decision to invite them all in where she placed Shion in her playpen and gestured to the couches and chairs for everyone to sit "Make your selves comfortable, Mai's going to be gone practically the whole day, I'll just make some tea" Michiru grimaced.

Now she knew why Mai had been slightly distracted that morning, staring at her phone with an uncertain look on her face, she'd known Kazuya was back in Japan, but wasn't sure how to really communicate with the people of SPR anymore after what had happened.

Which meant it was up to her to get them up to speed on everything that had happened with that in mind she disappeared into the kitchen to make tea while the others got comfortable on couches or a chair as was the case of Kazuya.

Or the other one, Lin, Mai had named him during the telling of all their adventures on each of the cases they'd done, fifteen minutes later she was back with a tray full of tea cups and everyone took a cup waiting for her to sit.

"Right what happened, all we could get out of anyone was that Mai had been attacked" Naru cut in, tone informing her that she better answer truthfully or her life would be made into a living hell, at least that's what she got out of it anyway.

Lin booted up a laptop in the meantime as she took a calming sip of chamomile "It began two months after you left, Mai started getting these letters, they were innocent enough at first, but then around the third week they changed, became graphic you know" Michiru began.

The tale wasn't going to be an easy one and she knew Mai would never be able to recount any of it herself "She started getting the feeling that she was being followed, the police wouldn't believe her" Michiru continued.

"At the end of that week things went downhill for Mai, the phone-calls began, disgusting voice-mails and the feeling that she was being followed only got worse until inevitably one evening on her way home she was attacked" Michiru paused to take another sip.

Face grim "That night Mai was raped, she was missing for a week as well, told the cops that the guy was possessed, I wholeheartedly believe her, when they questioned the guy he said he didn't remember anything during that entire week he'd held Mai captive" Michiru breathed.

"And a month later she found out that she was pregnant with Shion" Michiru finished, polishing off her tea and waiting for the questions she knew would be coming her way as soon as the people gathered in the living room gathered their thoughts.

The first one to speak was the older woman "So what Mai didn't think that maybe she should just give up Shion right to go to better parents" Ayako frowned already not liking what she'd learned, it still begged the question how everything else had come about.

Michiru grimaced "In Mai's words, it wasn't Shion's fault that she was conceived by an influenced person, so wanted to show Shion that at least her mother loved her, hence why Mai didn't give up Shion" Michiru informed.

Ayako slumped her shoulders "Okay but that still doesn't explain why she moved from her original apartment, that place was practically allowing her free rent as I heard" Houshou chimed in, looking around the much better apartment Mai occupied now.

Surely the bills were outrageous "Not so, well at least not after you left, they jacked the prices up on her when they heard she was pregnant, the principal helped her get this place and helped with the bills originally" Michiru shook her head, moving to pour her another cup of tea.

Followed by a quick look to Shion to make sure the energetic child was actually behaving for once, her lips quirked upwards into an amused smile when she saw the three year stood peering over the playpen railing at the newcomers with wide doe irises.

"Explain how she was able to get into that college of all places" Yasuhara questioned, wanting one of his questions answered otherwise he'd never be able to rest, there was a reason that college was difficult to get into after all.

Michiru smiled "Well after the incident Mai changed, became more focused on her studies, her grades shot up because of it and earned her a scholarship into the University" Michiru answered with ease, proud of how her friend had turned out.

"You said originally….the principal of your high-school helped her pay the bills of this place originally" Masako interjected herself with a huff, though she did feel quite terrible, what must Mai think of them for all just practically abandoning her.

The young woman across from them nodded "That's right until we all graduated, then Mai found a part-time job that pays quite well, hence how she's able to afford this place, keep her kitchen stocked moderately well and still have a little extra that she saves up" Michiru admitted.

Naru scowled at this "And pray tell what sort of job does Mai have" Naru demanded to know, the same as how Mai had always described the teenager/young man as he was now and Michiru felt sorry for her friend having had to deal with this guy all the way back in high-school.

But she did answer "Restaurant, waitressing really, she absolutely hates it" Michiru hinted, hoping the group before her was able to coerce Mai into joining their team again, she knew Mai would love to go on adventures and get out more again.

Everyone raised a brow at this, having a difficult time no doubt imagining Mai as a waitress "If she hates it so much why does she not simply find another job" John asked brow creased into a frown, confused at Mai's actions.

"Zero transportation and the restaurant is practically across the street from the university, the only place that was hiring at the time" Michiru admitted, nose crinkled in dislike, she didn't know how Mai could stand it there.

With that came an end to the plethora of questions until the silent man who'd been typing away on the laptop finally looked up "Do you think Mai would come back to SPR" Lin inquired, being the only one brave enough to ask that particular question it seemed.

Michiru grimaced "I don't know, she's confused right now I think, if her expression this morning was anything to go by, hounding her won't do any good either, but Mai misses you guys even if she won't admit it so yes, eventually anyway" Michiru finally said.

It was like they in unison felt relieved at the admission as stiff shoulders relaxed and serious expression smoothed, followed by a loud squeal from a toddler, causing a few of the adults to wince at the ear-splitting noise "That's Mai's daughter alright" Houshou rubbed his ear.

As it rang "Hush Monk at least besides looks Shion-chan is nothing like her mother" Ayako elbowed the man in the side, her statement was met with silence and dread filled her in response, as the young woman babysitting Shion hefted the child from her playpen.

"Mai told me everything you know and she thinks Shion is more aware than she is of things that go on, it was just yesterday that Shion saw something right here in this very apartment" Michiru informed bluntly not wanting to be treated like she didn't know anything.

Immediately several people went rigid, while Lin simply looked surprised, his Shiki hadn't told him the child had been able to see him "There are no spirits here" Masako snipped out, though she did focus only to feel relief that the apartment was as normal as any other apartment could be.

"What do you mean Mai told you everything, you don't mean that do you" Yasuhara gulped, Michiru nodded seriously, letting them know in a certain amount of words that she knew, everything about SPR and what they did.

They guessed they couldn't really blame Mai "Before you say it was confidential, you have to remember SPR was closed at the time and she only told me the whole truth, which I swore a solemn oath to never reveal to another soul anything that she told me" Michiru said.

Cutting through a certain someones angry thoughts "So why did Mai choose that university to attend in the first place" John questioned suddenly, having been curious, though he was even more curious about the toddler Mai had, had.

Especially if little Shion was spiritually aware "Let me go make some more tea" Michiru offered, preparing to set the heavy toddler back in her playpen, before she could Shion was gently snatched by Ayako and settled the three year old in her lap.

With a shrug Michiru disappeared into the kitchen to make more tea "Right that university huh, I think Mai had intended on opening a business similar to SPR, though she never outright came and said it" Michiru said upon her return.

Naru snorted obviously not impressed with her answer "And what did she think that she could do on her own" Naru glared harshly at the living room table Mai had in her apartment, that girl had only barely learned the essentials to being a spiritualist.

Michiru shrugged again not sure how to answer that one "Either way we're going to have to wait until Mai returns to find out more" Lin shut his laptop prepared to sit there for quite a long time as the others got comfortable.

Even little Shion who seemed to be enjoying the attention Ayako was bestowing upon her "You're just a cutie yes you are, much cuter than your Mother" the Miko made silly faces for the three year old, getting loud childish laughter in response.

Until inevitably Shion grew tired and reached for her babysitter "MiMi" the little girl demanded looking tired so off down the hall to her bedroom she went so that she could take her before afternoon/lunch nap as she was use to.

"Quite the handful isn't she" Houshou chuckled having found the child adorable himself, though it did make him worry that Mai would be to busy taking care of Shion and going to school at the same time to have any time for anything else, like SPR for instances.

The young woman nodded "Oh yeah there are some day's it's like Shion is on a sugar high or something, Mai thinks it's Akira and I" Michiru huffed in exasperation, though she did love the mahogany haired toddler.

"Well if it's not you and your boyfriend then what causes her to act like that sometimes" Masako sniffed, curious but trying to act like she wasn't, she wasn't fooling anyone though as the other members saw right through her act.

This question though got another shrug "Haven't a clue, Shion is a strange child" Michiru said, it didn't make her care any less knowing that Shion was special and could see things she couldn't, even if it did freak her out quite a bit.

"Has Mai ever encountered other spirits and the like since that time" Yasuhara cleared his throat, thinking of yet another question, it was somewhat his job after all as an assistant to Lin to get information that could be used in cases and such.

Michiru nodded solemnly "They seek her out sometimes, spirits I mean, non-violent entities since that time, the first time is how she found out Shion could see them as well, then she offered up a prayer and the spirit moved on" Michiru explained.

Shocking the others "Seek her out" even Lin was surprised at that information and made a mental note to add it to the document he'd been typing up since the other day, considering Naru had classified this as their first case since reopening SPR.

The young woman across them nodded "Non-violent entities" Naru creased his brow in confusion, he'd never heard of that before and he'd never heard of spirits actively seeking someone out like that and moving on so quickly afterwards.

"Yes, that possessed guy was the last violent entity Mai encountered, after that the spirits that approach her are non-violent, she lends an ear, offers a prayer for them and they move on after" Michiru repeated what Mai had told her.

Again the group was stunned and because they never thought to even check up on her, except for John they hadn't known anything "Taniyama-san was already a magnet for spirits and such, perhaps something changed after the attack that led to her becoming something else" Lin offered.

It was all he could manage to come up with on such short notice anyway "Perhaps, we'll just have to wait and ask her when she finally does get back" Naru grunted, in a foul mood, though part of him felt guilty because Mai's powers had grown and he hadn't been there to help her.

During this time, Mai's first class of the day was finally over and after packing up her books and scribbling down the homework assignment made a mad dash to her next class electrical and electronic engineering, handing in yesterday's assignment and taking her usual seat, book open and ready.

Five minutes later the professor walked in and five minutes after that he began the lecture, and soon the room was filled with the sound of pencil on paper as she and her classmates scribbled notes in their notebooks to prepare for whenever the professor would give them another test.

For an hour and a half she sat there in that uncomfortable chair, listening intently to the professor and his lecture doing her best to keep up and write down anything important so that she could study properly and keep her grades up.

Before Mai knew it the lesson was over and she was rushing off to have lunch only to return for her final lesson of the day marketing, then it was off to work after making sure she had everything she needed to complete her homework for the night and turn it in on next Wednesday.

When she was finally released from work, Mai headed home through the downpour that had begun sometime an hour earlier never knowing what awaited her back at her apartment as she hurried trying not to get to soaked since she didn't have an umbrella.

Everyone in the apartment stopped what they were doing when the door to the apartment opened abruptly "Phew it's really coming down out there guess I should have taken an umbrella huh Mi…." Mai laughed as she appeared in the living room only to stop cold at the sight of them.

All of them were stunned at the amount of change their friend had gone through in four years, long gone was the Mai that they knew "You never answered our calls" Naru snapped irate, how dare she ignore them.

Mai didn't so much as flinch "Sorry Naru but that doesn't work on me anymore, I'm not a child anymore" Mai stated in a flat tone, ushering forward to greet her daughter and thank Michiru once again for babysitting for her when she was so busy ninety percent of the time.

Naru wasn't sure what to think when Mai didn't rise to occasion, where had her temperament gone he wondered "We came here to get you to come back to SPR" Masako cleared her throat delicately sensing that Mai no longer had that crush on Naru as she once had.

"Give them a chance Mai, anyway see you tomorrow Shion-chan" Michiru whispered in her friends ear, hoping that Mai would go back to SPR, the girl sorely needed that sense of adventure instead of being cooped up all the time and never going anywhere new.

The brunette sighed having thought long and hard about her answer anyway but she wasn't going to make it easy for them "So as far as I see you don't really need me" Mai commented, grabbing a towel from a closet to her right to dry her hair properly that way she didn't get sick.

"Cut the cr…seriously Mai is that what you think of course we need you, you're an essential part of the team" Houshou began in a slightly cross tone only to remember the toddler in their presence and try to keep the conversation pleasant and curse free.

A mahogany brow raised in response "That didn't stop you all from practically ignoring me when Naru went back to England, I tried to call you guys numerous times and got nothing for my efforts, and while John-san's attempts to keep in contact were nice, it wasn't the same" Mai admitted.

Having tried but nobody had even seemed to care anymore "Why did you stop answering my calls Mai" John asked, hurt, because he could have helped her but she obviously had thought he to would grow tired of her.

"Because I could hardly stand my phone at that point in time, if you received nasty messages or disgusting perverted voice-mails you'd ignore anyone as well, then after the incident in which I'm sure Michiru told you about, I was focused on trying to get my life back to normal" Mai said.

Hugging Shion close before vanishing into the kitchen for a late dinner, the others were quick to follow and after several more questions that she willingly answered the SPR Team left her to her thoughts, homework and daughter for the night.


	4. Case 1: Mai Taniyama (End)

Upon the following morning, Mai found herself in a pinch, said pinch being that Michiru for once was unable to come and babysit Shion and just as she was beginning to think that she would have to drag her daughter along to classes for the day, her phone rang.

"Mai, everything alright, for some reason I can tell that your anxious about something" on the other end was Lin, the very last person she expected to ever be concerned or even sense that something was wrong with her.

And she had to debate for a moment whether or not to tell him the truth since they hadn't exactly been close way back when "Well….you see my friend Michiru is unable to watch Shion that's all" Mai said after some consideration.

Lin was silent for a moment and the suggestion that came shocked her "I know Naru intends on dragging everyone over there again and I doubt he'd care if I came early, that is to say Mai if you'd like I can watch your daughter for you" Lin offered.

For a moment Mai was stunned, then resigned "It's because Shion is special, I wish I could do more for her you know but like Naru told me I don't really know that much" Mai sighed softly, feeling inadequate for once.

"While Shion does have a gift, you've done more than you think, it's really rare for spirits to actually seek someone out, your one of the rarest spiritualists in the world, a peacemaker, you could put even the most violent of spirits at rest just by offering a prayer" Lin interjected.

Not wanting the young woman to feel like she wasn't doing a good enough job of being a mother to her daughter "Thank you Lin, I'll be waiting" Mai ended the call and he heard the raw emotion in her voice from his statement.

With that he pocketed his phone, grabbed his laptop and went off to find Naru, "What Lin" Kazuya sighed, snapping his book shut seeing the stare of his assistant/bodyguard, while noting he was carrying his laptop.

Indigo eyes narrowed as Lin released a breath "Mai-san's friend is unable to watch her daughter so I offered since we're all going there anyway" the dark haired Onmyoji informed keeping his gaze on Naru.

Who mulled the idea over before nodding "Go, you can gather data on Mai's daughter while she's gone to classes" Naru waved the man off, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to have Lin observe Shion.

Lin turned on his heel at that, grabbed a few more things and was soon in his car on the way to Mai's apartment where she was waiting for him "Shion's in her playpen, I left a schedule on the kitchen table and some directions if you need tea" Mai handed over a spare key.

And he raised a brow at it "In case you go out or something, Shion loves walks, I'll be back around 3:45ish since I don't have work today" the brunette explained, poked her head back into her apartment real quick to say goodbye to her daughter.

Then she was gone to her first class of the day General Engineering, Lin watched her go until she was out of sight then ducked into the tiny apartment, and he really hoped they were able to convince the young woman to come back to Shibuya Psychic Research.

"Right, looks like it's just you and me for the time being" Lin muttered seeing Shion peering at him curiously from the playpen that was set up in the small living room and just to test if she could actually see them called one of his shiki.

Shion's gaze was riveted to the demon the minute it appeared in the apartment and he had his proof the little girl was special, for a time he watched Shion watch his shiki until he shook his head "Mai-san left a schedule" Lin reminded.

Locating the kitchen table and Shion's schedule that he quickly read over, it was rather simplistic in the directions so with little else to do he went back into the living room where Shion had decided to play with her blocks, sat and then booted up his laptop.

For a long while he sat in silence until a loud crash disturbed him and he quickly glanced over to the playpen to find that Shion had knocked over her tower of blocks as loudly as possible, he took a look at the time and realized a good hour had passed since he'd started typing.

So he set his computer down and stood wondering what sort of madness had possessed him to offer this in the first place as immediately after Lin realized that watching after a growing toddler was not the easiest thing in the world.

Given that she reached for him, wearing the most determined expression "She's not going to eat you, you know" and then, Mai's voice sounded from behind him, "I forgot something for my class, the professor gave me a pass" the brunette explained when he shot her a questioning glance.

Though inwardly she was having a lovely chuckle over the scene she'd walked in on, a very intense stare down between her daughter and Lin, but she hurriedly grabbed what she'd forgotten and left again.

Upon Mai's second departure Lin relented and awkwardly lifted the child to eye level earning a wide smile and a loud squeal that tried to blow out his hearing "Guess I'm holding you then" Lin deadpanned when Shion refused to let him put her down.

To his surprise Shion was well behaved as she settled against his side when he sat in the large chair and resumed his typing on the keyboard of his computer, and soon he was once again immersed in his work.

That was until a cranky mahogany haired child screaming at him reminded him that it was time for her afternoon/before lunch nap, it took a bit of maneuvering he'll admit only to himself as Shion had wiggled herself down limiting his range of movement some.

But after a couple of minutes he managed to wrangle her into his arms without toppling his laptop onto the floor due to her squirming and moments later she was laid napping in her crib "How on earth did Taniyama-san manage three years when I can't even manage one day" Lin sighed.

Oddly exhausted and it had only been a few hours, his day was only just beginning apparently despite it being almost noon because now he had to not only cook lunch but make the food edible for a growing child as well.

~Hours Later~

Lin was never so grateful when the door opened to admit Mai back into her apartment after a day of classes at her university "Lin-san what happened" Mai asked in a panicked tone seeing the usually aloof man looking as if he'd been in a fight.

What with his clothes rumpled unlike how they usually were not to mention the suspiciously dried stain, even his hair was all over the place instead of neatly combed "You forgot to mention that Shion-san can be quite the handful" Lin intoned flatly.

Ready to leave even though Naru and the others would be there soon "I'm sorry, but I did tell you all that Shion acts like she's on a sugar rush sometimes, today must have been one of those days, otherwise she's generally very easy to manage" Mai apologized.

With a world weary sigh Lin resumed sitting in the chair he'd taken over for the day as Mai puttered about her tiny kitchen making a pot of tea that she left on the stove for Naru the tea-aholic before going to deal with her squalling toddler.

Who was awake and raring to go some more even after the day she'd put Lin through apparently and just as she got Shion settled in her playpen with a snack to tide her over until dinner knocks sounded on the door.

Indicating the rest of SPR was there "Dare I ask" Houshou raised a brow at Lin's unkempt look unaware that the man had spent the entire day watching after Shion, his question earned him a glare from the onmyodo practitioner.

Houshou wisely shut his mouth "So Mai an answer sometime soon would be nice" Naru cut in, his tone scalding as his patience ran out in regards to the young woman who had been his assistant four years ago.

Mai shot him an equally as cutting glare right as Shion let out a unhappy cry "The world doesn't revolve around you Naru" Mai informed as she placed a cup of tea down before him and the others then lifted her daughter into her arms.

To shush her gently until her bout of tears abated "Naru you know she's right, we can't expect her to drop everything just because we or rather you demand it of her" Ayako chimed in on Mai's side apparently.

She loved the girl like a daughter "And things like this take time and patience, even if Mai-chan wanted to come work for SPR again, she would first have to quit her current part-time job, figure out a schedule when we're on cases for her classes and the like" Yasuhara added.

Knowing that Mai simply wouldn't quit going to college, she had a direction in life she wanted to go and nothing not even the offer to come back to Shibuya Psychic Research would sway her "Exactly, what Yasu said" Mai nodded.

Daring her old boss to say something to that "And there's also Shion to consider" Masako reminded no longer as annoyed now that things were simmering down and really the toddler was adorable even if she wouldn't admit it yet.

"Let me guess you have something you want to add as well Lin" Naru frowned at his assistant/bodyguard who had been at Mai's apartment all day, Lin however was silent easing the tension some.

The last one to speak was John who looked at Mai "I don't know okay, there's a lot to think about" Mai sighed at long last when the stares got to her, in spite of himself Kazuya's expression softened seeing her internal conflict over this whole ordeal.

Even Lin had to wince in sympathy "Just tell us what you need Mai-san" John, the one who'd tried before straightened, wanting to do what he could to help the young woman which would allow her to come back to work with them.

Mai slumped onto the couch at that, Shion playing in her playpen again "Quitting my current job is not going to be easy, it's a little sandwich bistro and I'd have to put in a two week notice and work those two weeks as well" Mai sighed eventually.

Having already planned to return to work at SPR "Okay that's reasonable" Naru said through gritted teeth, knowing that this was only the first step to getting Mai back into his employ and he imagined there were many more.

Case and point Mai shot him a look that he couldn't decipher "When I go back to working for you Naru, don't expect you'll get away with treating me as you did before, simple respect is all I ask for" the brunette requested.

A tingle went down his spine letting him know she was deadly serious about that "Very well, you can also expect a pay raise as you'll be having an official position instead of simply being my assistant this time around" Naru nodded.

"That was another thing I was going to mention but I guess I don't have to now, another thing I'll need you to supply me a computer, any old laptop will do until I'm able to purchase one of my own, so that I can listen to my class lectures online" Mai informed.

Naru, who hadn't expected that the girl would be so focused on her studies, was very surprised at her newest request, considering how terrible she'd been before "You really have changed" Kazuya murmured, guilt twisting his stomach into knots at the revelation.

Mai's expression flattened some "Did you really think I'd stay the same, even if that hadn't happened I would have still grown up with or without you and everyone else, and on that note there's still one more matter to discuss" Mai reminded.

Getting the conversation back on track as she gazed at her daughter making the others stare at the toddler as well "I'm sure if I asked my girlfriend would agree to accept her into the daycare she runs, it's attached to her house and she does overnights if necessary" Yasuhara chimed in.

Alerting everyone to the fact that he had a girlfriend "Oh and how long have you been with her" Houshou grinned, ready to tease the young man for all the teasing he'd done to him when he'd been younger.

"Besides the point right now, Yasu how much does she charge, for her regular services and for overnights" Mai interrupted, earning a pout from Monk which wasn't cute in the least, it was disturbing and a little funny actually.

Yasu sighed inwardly in relief as he brought up the website to his girlfriends business on his phone "Aiko Daycare huh, Michiru actually recommended it to me once last year, but since I don't have a vehicle I couldn't take her" Mai mused.

Remembering being shown this very site but now it was possible, hopefully and with a quick look at the amount the woman charged, she felt ascertained that Shion would be in good hands "Well on that note we should probably leave you for the day" Ayako stood, stretching as she did so.

"Aiko-chan also does pickups in case you were wondering" Yasuhara declared as he retrieved his phone followed by disappearing out the apartment door on Ayako's heels, Masako was next but she did take a moment to nod approvingly at Mai before exiting the apartment.

Houshou hurried out after the former three, John on his heels, Lin shut down his laptop and was sixth to leave the little apartment and Naru left last "And once again it's just the two of us huh Shion" Mai said to her three year old.

Who paid her little to no attention seeing as the toddler was busy with her building blocks, which meant it was a good time to get started on her general engineering and linguistics homework until Shion loudly complained as her tummy rumbled in hunger.

Indicating it was dinner time so she abandoned her work for the time being and whipped up a healthy meal for her and her daughter that Shion loved as she happily crammed the zucchini patty into her mouth.

Mai watched in a small manner of amusement before focusing on her own dinner while trying to finish her schoolwork and checking over the work of the day before, for her computer science, electrical & electronic engineering and marketing classes.

A few hours later when Shion was nodding off in her playpen Mai gratefully closed her books and piled them neatly on the table to put her daughter in bed then after a quick shower, Mai crawled into her own bed for some shut eye.

Only to repeat everything the next morning "You agreed to go back and work for Kazuya" Michiru grinned excited for her best friend easily able to tell as Mai had this air of happiness about her.

"Can't hide anything from you can I Michiru-chan" Mai huffed exasperatedly as she made sure she had her books for her Land & Property Management, Librarianship & Information Management, and Law classes along with last Friday's completed homework assignments.

Michiru giggled softly at Mai's exasperation "Admit it though your happy, so how did they get you to agree, I can't imagine it was easy" Michiru questioned already toting Shion around to the little girl's glee.

Pausing in making breakfast for a moment Mai thought back over the conversation she'd had with her former and soon to be again co-workers and boss "Well one condition was proper respect from Naru, another was they had to supply me with a laptop and I get an official position" Mai said.

Rifling through her cabinets "Though I can't start work at SPR right away given that I'll be required to work until the day I quit after I put in my two week notice and Shion will finally be going to a daycare, the one you told me opened up last year to be precise" Mai continued.

Best friend nodding along and agreeing that those were fairly important things to consider especially since cases could be time consuming "Guess I'll have to get use to not coming over and watching after Shion-chan huh" Michiru frowned a little put out over this fact.

"Nonsense Michiru-chan, it's only on the days that we'll be off on a case for the business, other than that things will be mostly the same I suppose" Mai announced not wanting to cut her friends out of her life or Shion's life for that matter.

This relieved Michiru greatly and thirty minutes later Mai was headed out the door leaving the two females alone to spend the day with each other until late since she had to work that day, an hour after heading off to class, Lin dropped by with Yasuhara.

Neither were surprised that Mai was already gone for the day "For Taniyama-san, the laptop she requested as one of the conditions to coming back to work for SPR, it's been wiped of anything non-essential and her's until she can buy one of her own" Lin explained.

Setting what looked like a very expensive laptop, it's personal carrying bag, airpods and a wifi hotspot device, down on Mai's little kitchen table that still had a pile of her course books on it, even Yasu was surprised at the amount of them "How many classes is she taking" Yasuhara asked.

Very curious seeing that there were about ten books on the table if he counted right "Thirteen in all and she's only a month into her second year at the University" Michiru admitted calmly, having had time to get use to Mai's large workload.

"Kami" Yasuhara choked out wondering how his friend hadn't gone insane yet "Anyway here's some more information for Mai about Aiko's Daycare" Yasuhara said, sticking a sticky note on the bag with the laptop in it.

Then both he and Lin left "Come on then Shion-chan let's go for a walk and maybe visit the park" Michiru declared, sensing that Shion was restless so she readied the little girl to go outside for the day along with a picnic basket of snacks for whenever the toddler got hungry.

An hour later at the University Mai found a moment to stop by the main office to explain the situation "And so seeing as I'll be taking a new job that will often take me out of the city, I'll need to sign up for the online lectures the professors offer" Mai told the Principle.

"What made you decide to quit your current job Taniyama-san as I understand it, it pays well and is nearby that was the argument you made when one of my friends offered you a management job and offered to pick you up since you don't own your own vehicle" the man inquired.

Here Mai breathed a long suffering sigh "My old job reopened a few days ago apparently and my old boss wants me to come back, and I know him enough to know that he wouldn't have let me say no given the kind of work he's into" Mai began.

Being careful with how free she was with the information "Plus I did enjoy working there and with the option I had to take it, plus he's paying more so that's another plus" the mahogany haired teen explained properly.

The University's principle nodding along "Well given your grade record, I know you'll be able to handle a full time job on top of your classes, come see me Saturday, ten sharp and we'll get you set up online, but it will be your job to inform your professors of this fact understand" the man reminded sternly.

Mai was all to happy to nod in acceptance before scurrying off to her second class of the day then escape to the roof for lunch after telling the teacher of her librarianship & information management class of her latest decision.

And after lunch was her final class of the week, thankfully both professors were understanding and even pleased with her decision as she shuffled off to work, "Excuse me Sir, I'd like to put in my two week notice" Mai said when she saw her current employer.

Who didn't look happy that one of his employee's was quitting for no reason "If you give me a valid reason as to why your quitting" the flat tone he spoke in made her flinch slightly, reminding her of her week of hell being held captive by a man possessed by a violent spirit.

"Yes, my old workplace has reopened and the owner has offered me a position there again, I know it's short notice Sir but I really enjoyed working for my old employer" Mai admitted carefully trying not to sound ungrateful or anything.

But she was ready for a change "Very well but I expect you to work these next two works with an extra hour tacked on as you train your replacement got it Taniyama" her current boss ordered gesturing to the newbie who had started that day apparently.

So she filled out her two week notice form, text messaged Michiru that she had to work an extra hour real quick, then threw herself into work teaching the new girl who was two years younger than her the ropes to the waitressing job she'd applied for at the little sandwich bistro.

At exactly 7:30, Mai untied her apron got her bi-weekly check and trudged home to her apartment that was full up of people again for the third day in a row "Ugh" Mai groaned, particularly exhausted and she still had to do her homework.

"We can come back tomorrow around ten if you want Mai-san" John, bless the man suggested, as she flopped ungracefully down into her favorite chair and minutes after had her daughter cuddled against her chest.

Mai very nearly dozed off, would have to if Naru hadn't cleared his throat pointedly "Ah ten's no good, I have an appointment with the Principle at that time to sign up for the online lectures, I'll still have to go in for exams and the like such as turning in my homework" the brunette yawned.

Forcing herself to wake up a little and thanking Michiru who handed her a cup of caffeinated tea "Mama tired" Shion giggled earning several amused chuckles from the people in the living room of the small apartment.

"Yes Mama is very tired, but Mama can't go to sleep just yet" Mai nodded not disagreeing with her daughter who was quite articulate, just then a tingle went down her spine, alerting her and everyone else in the apartment that they weren't alone.

Shion went very quiet as the temperature of the room dropped rapidly, and the toddler watched as the entity that had invaded her home came closer until their breaths were visible, Mai was fully awake at this point.

As the spirit became visible to her and the others in the living room except for Michiru, _*Will You Lend Me Your Ear Spiritualist*_ the ghost rasped, clearly non violent, Lin flipped open his laptop and booted it up quickly as Mai gave the spirit a nod.

Assenting to the request _*Then listen closely to my harrowing tale, twenty years ago I was in love with a wealthy man who promised to marry me though his family disapproved we were determined to marry*_ the spirit began.

The sound of keys being typed upon sounded through the room as Mai listened attentively _*One night he asked me to meet him so that we could run away and elope with one another, but sadly he never came and I was murdered brutally*_ the ghost continued.

_"My love is alive still to this day but I am bound and unable to move on due to bitter resentment over the fact that he stood me up and married a proper young lady his parents whole-heartedly agreed with*_ the spirit finished.

Sympathetic of the spirit's plight and sensing that it was just a moment away from becoming a violent entity due to how long she'd been around Mai opened her mouth "I can understand, truly but festering such feelings in your heart will only bring you more suffering" Mai explained.

Rather gently, "It's okay to let go, you'll feel better for it I promise" Mai smiled for the spirit invading her apartment as she cuddled her daughter who kept her attention on the ghost, proving to Naru that the child did have a knack for the paranormal like her mother.

_*Truly, will you pray for me then*_ the entity requested, relief like no other flooding through her as the young woman before her put her hands together and prayed, the shackles preventing her from moving on broke after twenty years and she finally headed for her destined place.

Just like that warmth flowed through them as the temperature returned to normal but no one spoke after seeing Mai work, exactly as Michiru had described, spirits actively sought the brunette out and moved on soon after Mai offered up a prayer for them.

Though there was one thing Lin did note about the situation was that the spirits that came to Mai probably all had the potential of becoming violent entities and he quickly typed that out before saving the document and shutting down his laptop again.

And not long after the lot of them left, Michiru with them and despite exhaustion creeping up on her again Mai made a late dinner for herself, put Shion to bed and cracked down on her homework so it would all be done without her having to worry about it over the weekend.

Then two weeks later, after signing up for her online classes and lectures, informing all her class professors, teaching the newbie correctly at the bistro how to handle the job, on Saturday Mai climbed into Lin's van, daughter strapped into her car-seat on the way to her new/old job.

Upon entering the SPR office, Naru informed her that she had her own office somewhat, it was small sure but with plenty of room to put up a small playpen in the corner for Shion who would start going to her new daycare on Monday.

Her position dealt with non violent entity cases and Mai was very happy over this revelation and with that Naru considered SPR's first case closed and over with, with the brunette investigator back in his employ two and a half weeks after his return to Japan.


	5. Case 2: The Haunted Complex (Part 1)

Not but a week later SPR got their first, technically second official case as the owner of an apartment complex in the town over stopped by the business and requested a meeting with the boss of SPR.

"Excuse me, I'm here for a consultation, an acquaintance of mine recommended this place due to a problem I'm having with my complex" the forty some year old man with dark red hair called out from the foyer.

Immediately Mai popped out of her little office after making sure Shion was still napping since it was just a little before lunch "Give me a sec, I'll let Naru know your here Sir" Mai smiled pleasantly at the man.

Then knocked firmly on Naru's office door, a grunt sounded from within and she poked her head into the room "We have a guest requesting a consultation" the mahogany haired teen informed, making sure Naru heard before shutting his door.

And padding off into the kitchen to make tea, unfortunately that was still part of her job and non-negotiable, it didn't take very long to make thankfully due to the upgrades done with kitchen appliances.

So tea was ready in less time than usual, just as she was bringing it out into the main room where consultations were done, Naru exited his office, Lin with his laptop on his heels, and Yasu with a notepad on Lin's heels as the four of them sat to listen to their guests troubles.

"You mentioned you were having troubles with your complex, what sort of troubles may I ask, thank you Mai" Naru demanded to know once Lin's laptop had been booted up and a document was opened for him to begin typing so they could determine if this was a case worth taking.

But Naru did take a moment to thank Mai for making tea "Ah yes, and thank you young lady for the delightful beverage, some of the residents have been complaining about the central heating and cooling for some time that it's faulty, lights will flicker and other such things" the man began.

Lin already clacking away on the keyboard as Yasuhara scribbled things down on his notepad even Mai was paying extra attention "Other such things as" Naru prodded, not wanting those things to be the only explanation.

"Right, knocking sounds, one resident complained of a horrid smell permeating her apartment and it didn't dissipate at all when she opened her window, another moved out just recently telling me he couldn't take the voices any longer that whispered malicious things" he continued.

Listing just a few more incidents that had gone on "My acquaintance by the name Chiaki Kasai told me to seek you out Mr. Shibuya as it sounds like I have a case you might find interesting and before I forget my name is Daichiro Yamaha of Yamaha complexes" Daichiro introduced.

"Did you just say Chiaki, she's the one from that case at Yuasa High" Mai commented, not having ever expected to hear the name of the former Junior again since it had been so long since that case what with Naru ending up in the hospital.

Naru rolled his eyes but figured if that woman was involved then they had a real case "Lin, call Takigawa, Masako, Matsuzaki and John, tell them we have a case, Yamaha-san, you'll need to prepare three rooms one we can use as a base of operations and two rooms to sleep in" Naru ordered.

Flinging out demands left and right "And have Kasai-san meet us there if you can, we'd like her help on the case" the dark haired spiritualist grumbled, seeing a chance to add a new face to his team of paranormal investigators.

A little surprised, Daichiro nodded in agreement and soon after left after giving the young man who ran Shibuya Psychic Research the apartment complex address "Mai, have Yasuhara take you to your University to turn in any homework you've completed" Naru barked.

"We'll go ahead and take Shion to Aiko-chan as well, that way she's already at the daycare" Yasu chimed in as he grabbed his keys off his desk in Lin's office, while Mai vanished into her own to grab her finished work and wake Shion.

Who was not happy in the least that her nap was being shortened, so for once the usually sweet child was as grumpy as a crocodile as she wailed all the way out of the SPR building, Naru reigned in his temper and returned to his office.

Lin chuckled inwardly but did the same as he began searching for any information about the area the apartment complex was built on, less than half an hour later Yasu and Mai were back minus little Shion.

Though they to quickly got to work researching the necessary tidbits so they weren't entirely unprepared for when they got to the apartment complex the following day, hours later after necessary arrangements and calls to the rest of the team had been made.

Mai was driven back to her apartment on the other side of the city by Lin with the promise he'd be there around 7 to pick her up "Thanks Lin-san" Mai waved as he drove off, she got a nod back before he was entirely gone then she unlocked her door, only to shut and lock it back once she was inside.

It was disconcertingly empty and devoid of any of the usual sounds meaning she missed Shion terribly since this was the first time she'd been separated from her daughter for any extended period of time.

But Mai didn't let that deter her, she had a job and she would complete it as well as she could no matter the circumstances so with that Mai grabbed a duffle bag from her bedroom closet and opened up her dresser drawer trying not to let the silence get to her.

As she packed clothes into the bag, a couple of dresses that went to her calves, two pairs of jean pants with a belt, one pair of shorts that went to her knee's, three shirts, one long sleeved and two short sleeved, a light jacket just in case, two sets of pj's, five pairs of underwear and two bra's along with socks.

She also shoved an extra pair of sneakers into the bag and a pair of strappy sandals, for her toiletry needs a second bag was pulled out of the large duffle bag in which she put her favorite brand of tooth paste, her toothbrush, and her hair brush, along with some hair ties.

Tiny bottles were filled with her shampoo, conditioner and body wash, Mai even threw in a couple of towels and some laundry detergent, next came her university text books in a smaller duffle bag, the laptop Naru had supplied her and all of the things it had come with.

With that her packing was done as she set the bags by the door, that way they weren't forgotten, then checked the time to see how late it was, Mai let out a relieved sigh as she saw that she still had plenty of time.

So she flipped open her cellphone and dialed Aiko's number '_I figured you'd be calling soon to check on Shion-chan your so predictable Mai-chan_' came the voice of Yasuhara's girlfriend after the first ring of her phone.

Mai blushed a little at that and laughed sheepishly at her predictability "Sorry I can't help it Aiko-chan, this is the first time I've ever been separated from Shion for more than a day" Mai admitted quietly.

Worried that Shion would forget her face if the new case took longer than a few days _'Relax Mai-chan, I've got everything covered and that's just natural, all mothers, despite their age have separation anxiety but Shion-chan's in good hands I promise' _Aiko assured over the phone.

Helping the young woman on the other end calm down a little more "I know, there's never been a question if she was in good hands or not, the reviews on your website are all good and I have verbal confirmation from Yasuhara" Mai sighed softly.

"Still thank you for being so understanding and on that note I should probably get some shut eye, so goodnight Aiko-chan" Mai yawned audibly for Aiko who chuckled lightly in response followed by hanging up.

Anxiety eased for the time being, Mai set her alarm, plugged in her phone then curled up underneath the covers to catch some z's for the night, only to wake up the next morning at six to jab the snooze button on her alarm clock.

Before forcing herself up out of her bed despite the silence of the apartment which seriously bugged her then after shoving her phone and it's cord into a side pocket of her duffle bag quickly took a shower and changed into clean clothing.

Which didn't take that much time and since she hadn't had time to go shopping for groceries yet that week hurried out the door to get breakfast at the bistro "I'll have a toasted egg salad sandwich please and orange blossom herbal tea if you don't mind" Mai requested.

When the replacement waitress she'd trained approached to take her order "Okay anything else" the young girl of seventeen by the name of Noi asked but Mai shook her head so Noi handed off the order to the kitchen staff and came back five minutes later with the order.

Pleased that it hadn't taken all that long to get her food, Mai put her hands together quickly and murmured her thanks for the food before picking up the sandwich and taking a bite of it, followed by a sip of her orange blossom tea until every last bit of the sandwich was gone and her tea was drained.

And since it was only 6:40 and because she didn't want to return to her empty apartment yet, she ordered sandwiches for lunch for her, Lin and Naru, for herself she got a toasted potato salad sandwich, Lin got a hot, ham and swiss cheese sandwich and Naru got toasted BLT sandwich.

That thankfully came in a hot bag to keep food warm if one purchased it that was, the orders took only five extra minutes leaving her fifteen minutes to hustle back to her apartment where Lin was just pulling into the parking lot.

Lin exited the vehicle the moment it was parked as he popped the trunk for Mai who thrust the bag of warm food at him gently before disappearing into her home for her pre-packed bags, after grabbing her phone out of the side pocket, she shoved one bag into Lin's car trunk.

Before climbing into the backseat after taking the bag of sandwiches back from Lin and less than five minutes later they were on their way to the next town over which would take approximately seven hours, the others probably ten minutes ahead of them.

"So Mai what's with the bag" Naru leaned his head around to spy the brunette investigator in the backseat, the bag with sandwiches in it next to her in the empty seat as she typed on her phone to most likely Michiru.

Her head snapped up at his question though "Lunch from the bistro I use to work at, I may not have liked the waitressing job but the sandwiches are delicious especially the toasted ones" Mai explained.

And resumed typing on her phone, Naru grumbled under his breath "And what you couldn't have mentioned that earlier so we could stop by and grab a sandwich for ourselves before we left" Naru snapped feeling particularly crabby that morning.

Mai lifted a mahogany brow in response "And who says I just got food for myself Naru" the brunette scoffed, she wasn't that selfish, Naru quickly started ignoring her out of embarrassment at that because he'd mistakenly assumed that she'd only bought a sandwich for herself.

Only to find out she hadn't and had actually considered him and Lin as well, though the others in Yasuhara's van would most likely stop for lunch, the ones in Lin's car wouldn't have to thanks to Mai's generosity.

Just then her phone rang and she answered it to find Aiko on the other end _'Just thought I'd let you know everything's okay so far, Shion-chan's doing well so you don't have to worry much Mai-chan'_ Aiko informed.

Very compassionate about her work which Mai was grateful for "Thanks Aiko-chan for keeping me updated" Mai said before the call ended and she was right back to messaging Michiru who promised to help keep an eye on Shion not that it was a very hard feat to get the other girl to agree to such a thing.

With that the car lapsed into silence as both Lin and Naru weren't the sorts to engage in conversation with other passengers in the vehicle more Lin than Naru though as Mai remembered that one time Ayako had gotten stuck with Lin and he hadn't uttered a word to her for three hours.

Just the thought of it made her have a little laugh over the memory for a good couple of minutes, inwardly of course so she didn't distract Lin just in case or bother Naru who was reviewing a file of things that had been looked up for their newest case with that she flipped open her supplied laptop so she didn't get behind on her coursework.

Hours later when it was a few minutes past noon Naru thrust his hand back "Sandwich please" the paranormal investigator demanded, politely of course because he knew better now enough to know that he wouldn't get away with treating the brunette as he had before.

Mai grinned and pulled out the toasted BLT sandwich that was still warm thanks to the hot bag, his hand came back for Lin's sandwich as well, the hot ham and swiss cheese sandwich leaving her the toasted potato salad sandwich.

It was mere moments later as she was typing something up for her Librarianship & Information Management online essay homework that her phone rang "Hello Mai Taniyama speaking" Mai asked from around a bite of her sandwich.

'_Are you guys going to stop for lunch, you passed us about two minutes ago' _Ayako's voice came from the other end with the expected question, it had only been a matter of time before someone called to ask really.

She quickly swallowed the food in her mouth before answering "Nope, I thought ahead and ordered sandwiches from the bistro I waitressed at" Mai informed with a smile not that Ayako could see her smiling though.

On the other end Ayako felt her eye twitch even as she relayed the information to the others i.e. Yasuhara, Houshou, Masako and John _'Right a little forewarning would have been nice' _Ayako huffed, though she did wonder how Mai was faring being stuck with Lin and Naru.

"Sorry Ayako" Mai apologized only to be assured that everything was alright and that they could eat lunch without worrying about her before Ayako ended the call, not that she had much of a chance to put down her phone as it rang for the third time that day.

This time it was Aiko who updated her on how Shion was doing before the phone went blissfully silent leaving Mai to continue her work before tuning in to the last lecture of the day making use of the airpods that she'd been given.

Though inevitably she would have to finish listening to it later as an hour later they arrived at the apartment complex, when Mai was stowing her laptop back into the duffle bag a tingle went down her spine and her head snapped up to look around.

Lin and Naru immediately noticed her action "Taniyama-san do you sense something" Lin questioned taking her bag so that she could concentrate on what she was feeling and properly explain without being distracted.

"Yes, many of them, some of them I suspect have committed horrible crimes during their lives" Mai rubbed her arms as she spoke feeling cold all of a sudden, it wasn't just her, Naru and Lin felt the chill themselves.

Even though they were standing in the parking lot "Considering this area use to be a prison for high profile criminals who committed the most heinous crimes I'm not surprised we're getting this kind of reaction so early on" Naru muttered to himself.

Heard quite clearly by his companions and Mai fought the urge to turn and flee when faced with the idea of facing another violent entity like the one that had kidnapped her before she could act on it though her phone rang again.

It was Aiko again the sound of a familiar toddler was crying in the background _'I honestly don't know what's wrong with her, one minute she was happy, playing with another child her age and then she was screaming and crying, saying your name over and over' _Aiko explained.

"Let me talk to her" Mai requested and the wailing of her child came closer until she heard Shion's sweet voice over the phone "Shion sweetie whats the matter" Mai asked hearing the little girl sniffle.

Until she was able to speak _'Mama bad place'_ Shion cried, trying to warn her mother that she was in a dangerous place without her to boot, Mai frowned at the statement before realization came over her, Shion knew somehow they were at a hotspot for violent entities.

"Shion, Shion sweetie, it's okay, I'll be alright I have lots of people with me that know what their doing okay so you just worry about having fun with Aiko-chan alright" Mai assured, heart warmed at how compassionate her daughter was.

The three year old sniffled for a couple minutes longer _'Mama be safe' _little Shion pleaded before Aiko took the phone back from the no longer crying toddler, after a short conversation with the woman the phone call ended.

Naru rounded on her immediately "What was all that about" Naru demanded to know, taking a step back when he got a glare for his callousness, Mai rubbed her temples and took her duffle bags from Lin before answering.

"My daughter can sense that we're in a place that practically oozes with violence of course what did I expect from a spiritually aware child" Mai sighed, talking more to herself at that point than to Naru who winced imperceptibly.

With that the three of them hurried into the apartment complex to meet with Daichiro and Chiaki who was waiting for them as requested by Naru "Never did I think I would meet you guys again" the silver haired woman commented.

Seeing how the members of the SPR team who'd investigated things at her old high school had changed "Yeah we were pretty surprised ourselves when Yamaha-san told us that he was acquainted with you Kasai-san" Mai smiled at the older female.

"Please call me Chiaki, we're not in school anymore and beyond such polite formalities I would hope Mai, though I admit I'm a bit confused as to why you wanted me here Shibuya-san" Chiaki turned her brown eyes onto Naru.

Who schooled his expression into a neutral one "Being someone who can use psychokinesis, you could be useful on my team of paranormal investigators at SPR, depending on how you do on this case you have a job there if you want it" Naru informed.

Knowing that demanding the woman would get him no where considering it had gotten him no where with Mai who decided pretty much on her own to come back and work for him at SPR again "What" Chiaki spluttered in surprise.

And Mai rolled her eyes at his less than tactful way of explaining things "Way to go Naru, scare her off before she even gives the idea a chance why don't you" Mai scoffed as Chiaki stared at Naru with an appalled expression.

Obviously her powers were still a sore point for her if that was the expression she used whenever they were mentioned but it also meant she still had them "On that note I'll show you to the suite that you can use as your base of operations" Daichiro cleared his throat.

Reminding them that he was right there causing the four of them to straighten then follow him to the only suite apartment he had in the complex, reserved for the truly wealthy families or those who had money to rent the suite.

"There are a total of four rooms, two bathrooms, a main living room and a fully stocked kitchen, the laundry room is down the stairs there if you need it and I took the liberty on Kasai-san's recommendation to have the residents having issues come speak with you there" Daichiro explained.

Impressing Naru as they arrived at the suite and they were each given a key, with extra for the others who wouldn't be there for a little while longer, Daichiro did the honors of unlocking the apartment suite door, letting the four of them in.

Mai couldn't help but whistle, softly of course, especially when she saw the rooms "Was he serious about offering me a job at SPR" Chiaki asked when she found herself alone with Mai as Lin and Naru headed back out to get the equipment needed to set up their base room.

"Huh, oh yeah, he never jokes, sadly" Mai said, shooting a glance at her phone and deciding she could part with it for a little while as she went to help the two guys unload the trunk of Lin's car and seeing as there was an extra bed in the room Chiaki set her own things down.

Choosing to room with Mai until this case was over with then hesitantly went to help set things up earning an approving nod from Naru, that Mai did her best to explain what the equipment was for, though she was a little behind on her knowledge since it had been so long.

Not long after, perhaps an hour, Yasuhara with Houshou, John, Ayako and Masako arrived and were shown to the suite where base was already set up without them "Hara-san, I need you to go with Matsuzaki-san to sense how many spirits we're dealing with" Naru ordered.

Flinging out more demands now that the others on the team were there "Takigawa, John-san begin placing these camera's in places you feel might have a lot of activity, Mai, Kasai-san, let the residents of the building know that we're here" the indigo eyed investigator barked.

Sending the groups scrambling from the suite without giving the new arrivals any time to get set up in their rooms, "Lets go then Chiaki" Mai sighed, wondering if it was because she was a mother that it made it exhausting to deal with Naru sometimes.

"Right" Chiaki blinked at how quickly things were moving as she and Mai went door to door informing the residents that they were from SPR and they were set up in the suite apartment until they'd visited every single apartment and knocked on every single door.

Upon their return there was a line of people down the hall all waiting to speak with Naru, who had Lin and Yasu on either side of him either typing or scribbling away "And what may I ask have you been experiencing" Naru inquired.

Transforming into his professional self "Well, flickering lights of course, but it's the voices that whisper through the walls that truly frighten me, I'm about ready to move out really" the young man in his upper twenties rubbed his hands together nervously.

Sweat beading on his forehead as he looked around thinking about what he'd experienced already "How long has this been going on or when did it start specifically" Lin asked, pausing in his typing to ask his own question.

"Now that you mention it I don't exactly know when all this started but I know it's been going on for awhile, a couple of weeks, the flickering lights have been going on for a few months I think" he mused trying to think but unable to come up with a proper answer.

Chiaki was surprised at how efficiently the three males worked together, while they were sent out once again to each residents apartment to take room temperatures along with set up camera's and sound recorders.

By the time it was 5:30, most of the hard work was finished so Mai with Ayako's help made dinner for everyone who was hungry since the main work was done they could sit back and relax a little for now.

Mai even went so far as to finish listening to her Law course lecture, then get started on her essays that way she kept up with her homework and just as soon as she crawled into her chosen bed did the temperature drop in the room.

It dropped so low that her breath was visible, a yelp in the room across from her and Chiaki's indicated it wasn't just their room receiving a visit as Chiaki sat up having been unprepared for the visit as the spirit became visible for the both of them.

Apparently this was yet another non-violent entity as it spoke requesting Mai to lend it an ear of it's tale of being convicted of a crime he never committed and thrown into prison where he was suffocated in his sleep despite being innocent.

_*So I find myself at a loss young spiritualist, the warden who killed me still lives and there's this grudge to take revenge upon him and his family festering within me*_ the entity explained his dilemma not truly evil.

Though he had the potential to be a malicious spirit like many of the others in the apartment complex "Holding grudges will not help you move on and while I agree, he deserves to rot for what he did, doing it yourself prevents you from being at peace with yourself" Mai said.

The spirit looked upset at this _*So there is nothing I can do but let go, unfortunately that was not the answer I was looking for*_ the ghost informed, a red tint taking over his eyes as he transformed into a malicious spirit right before Chiaki and Mai's very eyes.

He didn't have a chance to perform any malicious acts as Mai acted quickly "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen, begone and may you rest in peace" Mai recited the nine cuts calmly and offered up a nice prayer as the spirit was exorcised.

Returning the temperature of the room to normal, "Taniyama-san, Kasai-san are you two alright, couldn't you hear us knocking on the door" Lin barged his way into the previously barred room thanks to the spirit and looked at the two young women in concern.

"Oh we're fine, Mai just exorcised a spirit is all, he was apparently unhappy and had been holding a grudge against the warden who killed him even though he was innocent but he was not happy with what Mai told him so he became a violent spirit" Chiaki explained.

Eyes wide and no longer tired "You mean he didn't move on after you offered up a prayer, apparently your power is limited to those who truly wish to move on but non violent entities still seek you out" Naru questioned.

Inwardly musing over the brunette's strange new spiritual abilities "Apparently, I'll document it in the morning and do a little research but for now I'm going to sleep" Mai snorted lightly, Lin coughed behind his hand which hid a small smile at the woman's snark.

Before he realized that yes he'd just laughed and smiled so he nodded and dragged Naru from the room so the two women could sleep as Mai set an alarm on her phone then flipped the covers up over her head.

Chiaki laid awake for an hour longer until her eyes drooped and eventually shut as her breathing evened out, only to be woken the following morning by Mai's phone blaring loudly in their ears it wasn't the alarm Mai set however but someone calling her.

Mai made a mad grab for the phone and answered it "Mai speaking" Mai greeted groggily as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes while taking a sip of water from the glass on the bedside table so her voice didn't come out rough.

The voice that greeted her back was a familiar one that had her smiling brightly and waking up much faster than she usually would have as Shion yelled her name over the phone _'Mama love you' _the brunette haired toddler babbled happily.

"Aww I love you to sweetie so to what honor do I get for being greeted with your voice bright and early hmm" Mai cooed to her daughter, she had to hold the phone away from her ear a second later as Shion squealed loudly.

Enough that it made her phone speaker crackle suspiciously _'Miss Mama, home soon'_ Shion asked hopefully not liking that she was parted from her mother, Mai felt her heart squeeze at the question and didn't know how to answer.

"I miss you to Shion-chan but my job might take awhile" Mai explained gently, as delicately as she could actually and in spite of that Shion started crying anyway, the sound made guilt twist her insides into knots.

Not to mention she was studiously ignoring the looks Chiaki was shooting her from the opposite bed _'Mama be safe' _Shion repeated what she'd said yesterday with a sniffle as Aiko took over for a couple of minutes before ending the phone call.

Upon closing her phone Mai shoved her head into the pillow and let out a frustrated scream "Whose Shion, don't tell me you swing that way Mai" Chiaki questioned now that the call had ended and Mai was available to answer.

After a moment the brunette lifted her head "Trust me Chiaki I'm into guys and Shion's my daughter, it's a long story, one I don't want to tell right now" Mai snorted lightly before forcing herself out of bed since she was to awake to go back to sleep now.

Besides Naru would be demanding them all up soon anyway since it was almost eight and tea, she couldn't forget that part as she thought about it with a roll of her eyes while stripping out of her pajamas and donning one of the dresses she'd brought along and the strappy sandals.

Only to exit the room and head towards the kitchen to make a pot of tea while deciding on what to make for breakfast, in the end she toasted bread enough for everyone to have two sandwiches and fried some eggs.

The smell drew the others from their rooms as well, Naru got his tea before they all sat to eat breakfast at the large table that thankfully was able to accommodate all of them "Mai don't forget to document what happened last night" Naru reminded.

When they gathered in the living room to watch the feed from the various places all around the apartment complex, Mai grabbed her laptop and flipped it open, then started typing rapidly on the keyboard and after she was finished she began searching for information.

While the others were busy and Mai found exactly what she was looking for, in the prison that had stood in this apartment complex's place fifty some years ago, a young man mysteriously died in his sleep, the same one she'd exorcised last night.

His name had been Kaoru Irving, he'd apparently been convicted of killing a family of three in the building he'd lived in before and less than a month after being thrown into the prison he was dead, after that there was next to no information, he didn't even have a grave apparently at the local cemetery.

That she noted down in the document she'd typed up before sending the file to Lin's email "Mai what did you find" John asked when she shut her laptop after shutting it down since she didn't need it anymore for the time being.

"Only that the ghost I exorcised last night doesn't even have a grave, I wonder if that was common practice or if the warden who killed him arranged for Kaoru-san's body to disappear to prevent anyone from figuring out that he'd actually been suffocated" Mai mused.

Perhaps Kaoru's body was still there just buried beneath the earth where no one could find him it really saddened her actually and she hadn't even been able to help him attain peace "Not bad for someone studying criminology" Yasuhara grinned.

Glad that someone was on par with him intellectually prompting a small smile from the young woman "Right nearly forgot your going to school to learn that sort of thing" Ayako sighed as she rubbed her temples like she had a headache.

Just then a horrible wailing sound came from one of the monitors that had been set up to record sound from one of the apartments with the residents of the complex who was having the most activity "Gah turn that down" Houshou winced rubbing his ears.

Relieved as Lin did just that "Activity happened in practically every apartment" Naru noted grimly realizing the sort of task he and his team were undertaking this time around, they were looking at about a week of exorcising spirits probably.

"What are we waiting for then, lets get started shall we" Masako declared eager to get this job over and done with, so with Ayako on her heels the two of them vanished out the door of the suite apartment to begin exorcising spirits.

Next to leave were Houshou and John as the younger man suggested "We should go help where we can as well" the blonde exorcist said hurrying off with the Monk on his heels, Naru glared at Mai who rolled her eyes.

But gestured for Chiaki to join her "The least I can do is walk around and see if anymore spirits approach me, though if we get in trouble I'm counting on you Chiaki" Mai commented leading the way down the halls of the apartment complex.

Very aware of the fact that she was being watched by entities of the building who didn't possess violent qualities yet and that's how their second day of being on their second official case for Shibuya Psychic Research went.


	6. Case 2: The Haunted Complex (Part 2)

Unfortunately for the members of SPR, the spirits in the apartment complex weren't easily exorcised and to the teams chagrin and horror even came back, while very few entities approached Mai to attain peace almost like they were afraid to do so.

Which meant the group would probably have to employ other methods in dealing with their current problem when they reviewed what they'd gotten so far the morning of their third day at Yamaha Complex.

"How about a purification ritual that uses the four cardinal directions with a center point" Mai suggested, already looking up such a thing and glad she was taking a linguistics course otherwise she most likely wouldn't understand what she was reading.

Glancing to Naru as Lin changed seats to sit next to her "An idea worth looking into, in the meantime I'd like to reduce the number of spirits trapped in here since it's obvious they can't leave" Naru snapped the folder he was reading shut.

As he shot a look to the four, foremost members of the team use to exorcising spirits "Oh you mean like what we did on that case with the doll" Houshou snapped his fingers in remembrance while shuddering a little.

Naru nodded glad that at least the members of his team didn't need detailed instructions now unlike how it had been four years ago, they simply knew what he wanted without him having to waste his breath explaining.

"First we prepare" Lin reminded, knowing that it would be like a madhouse in the apartment complex once the number of spirits started rapidly dropping and there was no telling what else might be hiding, just waiting to come out.

It was that unknown that gave them all pause "Lets start by telling Yamaha-san" John stood, eager to be done with this particular case despite it only being the third day they'd been there, so with Houshou on his heels they went to tell the complex owner of their decision and plan.

"Then I'll perform some more exorcisms and try to take out a few more of those pesky spirits" Ayako said primly, also planning on applying talismans to prevent the spirits from coming back hopefully which would help.

Masako gracefully rose from the couch "And I'll go with her to help" the spirit medium informed heading after the older woman to do her part leaving Mai and Chiaki with Naru, Lin and Yasuhara, who dove into researching as much as he could.

Chiaki sighed, feeling a little left out "Is there anything that I might be able to do, you did say Shibuya-san that if I did well, you'd offer me a position at your business" the silver haired woman eyed the man who could soon be her boss.

That's if he gave her a chance to do anything other than simply walk around with Mai all day long "Simply stay put Kasai-san and remain close to Mai, I won't chance anything happening to her" Naru ordered firmly.

Knowing that of all of them, Mai was the one who'd be in the most trouble as soon as they let the woman out of their sight "He's right Chiaki, I'm a danger magnet and though it's been about four years since I've been in this position, the potential is still there" Mai nodded.

Agreeing with Naru to Chiaki's surprise "Why aren't you arguing, I know your the kind of person to hate being cooped up Mai and that's what I expect from the two of you" Chiaki frowned and then there was also the matter of Mai having a daughter.

"Like you said Chiaki-chan, we're not in school anymore, plus I'm less inclined to try and get myself in trouble now that I have a daughter to care for" Mai answered calmly, having changed a lot apparently much more than Chiaki had thought actually.

As the older woman slumped down in the chair "Here Taniyama-san what do you think of this ritual, the items for it are rather easy to buy at a local grocery store" Lin turned his computer towards Mai, asking the brunette her opinion.

Mahogany orbs turned and took in the old sanskrit language of an ancient purification ritual that used the four cardinal directions, "That's a good one, you have to show me the sites you use sometime Lin-san" Mai declared.

Eager to learn more and do her part for the team, Naru felt his jaw slacken in surprise as the two chatted calmly to one another as they compared rituals they'd found that might work for them "Shibuya-san is everything alright" Chiaki whispered.

When Naru continued to stare at Lin and Mai as if he'd never seen the duo before "Just fine" Naru grunted, hiding his surprise behind one of his famous glares but he did shoot the unlikely duo another look that they missed entirely since they were absorbed in conversation.

Before thinking on the strangeness of the scene, it was more than likely Lin didn't realize what he was doing that was probably it so Naru buried the idea that flitted through his mind by flipping open a folder.

Until he was interrupted yet again this time by Yasu "Naru would you mind if I borrowed Mai and Chiaki to go speak with a warden previously employed at the prison who happens to still be alive" Yasuhara questioned.

Having been digging deep clearly just to find that tidbit of information, indigo eyes narrowed at him while Mai's head snapped in his direction "If he's still alive then it's most likely the warden who killed Kaoru-san that he wanted revenge on" Mai said.

Anger on behalf of the innocent surged through her veins until she tamped it out quite forcefully "Hmm, I think I'll do a little more research then before we go speak with him" Yasu mused, eyes glinting with determination.

Three hours later, around lunch time the missing members of their group returned "Masako sensed something" Ayako informed when they all sat at the large kitchen table, delicious curry and rice with green tea before them.

Masako nodded looking a little ill "Yes, I felt it briefly when we managed to remove some of the spirits, there is something else here, what it is I can't say for sure yet but it's the root of all the violence here in the complex" Masako explained.

"This just makes me want to talk to that former prison warden all the more, it says here that disturbing things went on at the prison, bodies disappeared, people died mysteriously all the time and that's why the prison was eventually abandoned and then torn down" Yasuhara chimed in.

It wasn't the only thing he had to say though "And there just so happens to be a forty year murder mystery that's long since gone cold" Yasu admitted, getting the sense that the former warden could be the one behind those murders, especially this one.

"Nice going Yasu, research pays" Houshou slapped the younger man on the shoulder, proud of Yasu for all he'd found so far for their current case "Also Yamaha-san said that should we need anything we need only ask him" Houshou added.

Glad that the older man was cooperating well with them unlike how some clients were "Right, he even said he'd be willing to have all residents evacuate if you find it necessary" John said not wanting to forget that little bit.

With that they all tucked in to lunch and right after Yasuhara, with Mai and Chiaki, headed out to the former prison warden's current address to speak with him and they met with the seventy some year old man.

"Ah yes I remember, Kaoru Irving he was a heinous criminal, brutally murdered a family of three" the warden by the name of Arai Kibishi, rambled information they already knew, brain clearly addled in his old age.

Or that's how he seemed as Mai observed him with an intense yet unnoticeable glare as Yasuhara questioned Arai about Kaoru, her ears were tuned in just so that she was able to notice the slip up when Mr. Kibishi whispered something he shouldn't have.

"Criminals died every day there, we couldn't keep track of every single one of them when they passed so I'm afraid I can't tell you what happened to Irving, _the dirty bastard didn't deserve a grave_" Arai muttered so lowly that Mai almost didn't catch it.

But she did however "Okay, what about the forty some year old murder mystery case, as I understand it you were still there for twenty more years correct, surely you heard something" Yasuhara also had heard the muttered part.

Immediately at the new question Arai's skin paled "Excuse me won't you I'm afraid my lunch is disagreeing with me" Arai hastily excused himself from the table they were all sitting at and disappeared into the bathroom.

Leaving behind his wide eyed guests "He knows" Chiaki hissed under her breath able to tell at least that much, Mai and Yasuhara nodded, but they didn't have a chance to question Arai any longer as he came back.

And practically demanded they leave "Ugh that was a total bust, well I guess not entirely, but we still don't have information to tell home about" Mai sighed, only to flip open her phone as it rang, this time it was Michiru.

'_Hey just thought I'd call and check in see how you were doing on that case and all, oh I also dropped by your apartment, tidied it up a bit for you by taking out the trash and such' _Michiru asked her best friend.

Somewhat hoping that Mai would tell her that she was finished with the case and they were all coming back that very day, no such luck "Yeah, it got a whole lot more complicated, so this case is going to take a few days longer than even Naru expected" Mai explained.

Michiru sighed from the other end _'Well make sure you stay safe alright Mai, I don't want to hear of anything happening to you or Kazuya's going to find out what happens when someone puts my best friend in danger' _Michiru informed.

Mai laughed "Naru's been keeping me out of the way so you don't have to worry Michiru-chan, right we're back at the complex so I'll talk to you later" Mai assured before hanging up as she, Chiaki and Yasuhara exited his van.

Only to return to the suite they were based in, Naru wasn't to surprised that they got hardly any information which basically proved that Arai Kibishi was guilty of committing heinous crimes himself though they couldn't prove it themselves.

So they simply focused on what they could right then and there "I made talismans" Ayako announced a couple hours later, looking exhausted, but true to her word there was a pile of paper talismans on the table in front of her.

Each of them got a protective charm and the rest was distributed to residents of the apartment complex with the help of Masako and soon came the close of their third day on the case though just before Mai went to bed she got a call.

"I'm apparently having a test in my accounting and finance class" Mai informed with a neutral expression knowing that Naru hated interruptions or set backs and this would be one of them even though it was mandatory she go in and take exams and tests.

Naru, on his part did his very best to reign in his temper, knowing that Mai couldn't skip out on the test she had to take "Lin will drive you back, I doubt anything to pressing will happen" Naru said through gritted teeth.

Keeping to the conditions that had been set in order for Mai to agree to work for him again and upon saying those words a relieved expression overtook the young woman's face "And while your at it, go ahead and check up on Shion" Kazuya grumbled.

Mai smiled brightly in response at the chance to physically check up on her daughter, so with that, she grabbed what she needed then with Lin headed out to return to their home city "You should try and get as much rest as you can" Lin warned.

As Mai booted up the laptop while flipping open her book "I will in a couple hours Lin-san, but if I don't study now I won't do as well as I usually do" Mai assured, already reviewing her notes and past essays for the class.

Lin couldn't help the little chuckle that escaped from his throat and then settled into silence for the next two hours until snoring erupted from the front passenger seat indicating Mai had fallen asleep and unbeknownst to himself he cast her a fond glance not aware he'd done so yet.

Or that he was even fond of the young woman, it would be a revelation for another time, for now he simply drove through the night, unaware that the moment he and Mai had left things had drastically changed in the apartment complex.

"What the hell do you think is going on" Houshou frowned as he put his hands together and chanted the mantra for the immovable one, the suite they were in overrun with spirits, the truly malevolent presence that Masako had felt earlier able to be sensed by the rest of them now even.

John splashed some holy water around "No idea, something must have changed though" John yelled back, worried about the screams coming from the other residents in the complex and the charms Ayako had made weren't working at all now.

It was as if a lightbulb clicked on overheard "Mai's gone, her presence here must have been what was preventing this from happening" Chiaki exclaimed, not able to do much but simply stay out of the way.

Naru had to agree with her "Lin told me she's the rarest kind of spiritualist, a peacemaker, her very being calms spirits and entities and now that she's not here, they have nothing to sooth them or hold them back any longer" Naru rattled out impressively.

Wishing Mai hadn't had to go take a bloody test now that they were all witnessing firsthand exactly what happened when she wasn't around "I think things are calming down now" Masako sighed a few hours later.

Past the witching hour to be precise and the paranormal activity died down as did the screams from the residents "That doesn't mean our jobs done however, I'm going to go check on everyone make sure no one was hurt during this debacle" Ayako scowled.

Stalking from the suite with the Monk on her heels "Ugh I don't envy Mai-chan one little bit" Yasuhara groaned as he flopped down onto the couch, completely exhausted and he hadn't been able to do anything except hide behind Houshou.

"Neither do I" Chiaki agreed and then saw her chance to ask something that had been bugging her for awhile "How does Mai have a daughter, she wasn't very forthcoming with that particular explanation" Chiaki inquired.

Those remaining in the suite froze sporting extremely guilty expressions upon their faces "Mai probably would never tell you this but she was kidnapped by a man possessed by a spirit, held captive and raped by him for an entire week" Naru said just to get it all over with.

Any further questions Chiaki might have had died right there on the tip of her tongue and twenty minutes later Ayako and Houshou returned and they hesitantly laid down to get at least a few hours of sleep.

Two hours later, Lin pulled into the parking lot where Mai's apartment was located and wondered what to do now "Taniyama-san" Lin gently shook her shoulder after a moment of deliberation though he was loathe to wake her.

Her eyes opened slowly "Mm Lin-san are we here already" Mai yawned straightening out of her slouch and realizing what a bad idea it had been to fall asleep as she had because now her back hurt and if she was going to be seeing Shion later that was not a good thing.

"Yes, just arrived, you should head in to your apartment and sleep in your bed" Lin nodded, ready to get some shut eye himself, Mai exhaled softly then deftly unbuckled herself and exited Lin's car with a wave.

After making sure she had what she needed and then after watching Lin drive off, Mai headed into her apartment and got a couple more hours of sleep only to wake up at the usual time that she did exactly at seven.

Though she didn't have much in her cupboards so instead of trying to wrangle breakfast up out of nonexistent ingredients Mai grabbed her bag and left, deciding to eat at the bistro again "You know for someone who quit you sure eat here a lot" her old boss grumbled at her.

When she plopped down at an empty table "I haven't had much of a chance to go grocery shopping lately Sir" Mai explained politely as he took down her order of a toasted bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sandwich with coffee instead of tea.

"Your boss treating you right, he's not overworking you is he" the owner of the sandwich bistro narrowed his gaze on his former employee wanting to make sure she was being treated right seeing as he'd never allowed any of the customers to mistreat his waitresses.

Mai nodded "Thankfully he learned from past experiences so yes he's treating me well and not exactly per-say but the job can be time-consuming, since whenever we take on a case, we usually end up staying on-site which makes it hard to return home" the brunette answered.

Trying not to reveal to much about what her job entailed "What about that girl of yours, Shion-chan, how are you looking after her if your away from home so much" her old boss frowned not liking the sound of that.

Before she answered he dropped her order off at the kitchen window, waited exactly five minutes and returned, eyebrow raised expectantly "Shion-chan goes to daycare now, one of my coworkers is the boyfriend of the lady who runs the daycare and does overnights" Mai said.

"And though I haven't been able to see her for a couple of days I have spoken with Shion over the phone repeatedly" Mai finished, her old boss sighed but nodded in acceptance then finally wandered away leaving her to eat her breakfast in peace.

Then once she was done she paid for her meal and headed towards the university "Oh hey Mai, we were wondering where you disappeared, usually you come in for extra credit on the weekends" two of the girls in her class sat on either side of her.

Upon arriving in her Accounting & Finance classroom "Would have if I could have, but I'm currently away on a job with my work, I was only allowed to come back to take today's test, Asahi-san, Midori-san" Mai admitted.

Just a little surprised that the girls were talking to her since they usually didn't "Aww and here we were hoping you'd finally gotten yourself a boyfriend to help you take care of that cutie Shion" Asahi complained.

Wishing the brunette well even if they weren't exactly friends they were still able to be friendly with one another "Ooh how about coming to a mixer tonight with me and Asahi" Midori suggested suddenly.

Trying to involve Mai "Unfortunately Midori-san I can't, once I'm finished with my test, I only have about an hour to check up on Shion then head back to work, sorry but it was nice of you to invite me out with you" Mai apologized.

"Geez your boss must be some kind of slave-driver" both girls huffed and Mai chuckled humorously over the statement only to straighten and turn forward as the professor entered the classroom at exactly 8.

Immediately after roll-call he ordered them to spread out so they weren't all sitting together, followed by handing out the test packets, then he set a timer and told them to begin, Mai flipped her packet open and read through each question first before answering them as well as she could.

Mid-way through, someone a couple rows behind her raised their hand "Yes" Professor Katai asked, lifting his gaze from his book to stare at the student who decided they had a question they needed answering right then and there.

"Usually Professor you have extra credit questions, but you didn't add them this time, will you be offering e.c. at the end of the test" the teenagers who name escaped Mai at the moment inquired, bringing up a good point.

Professor Katai usually did put e.c. questions on his tests so why hadn't he this time "Good question Mr. Jukugo, extra credit will be available to all students if they speak to me after class ends but it will affect your overall grade not just your test grade if you fail at it" Katai warned.

Silence followed his statement and everyone lowered their heads to focus on their test until the timer went off signaling the end of their time, some students grumbled obviously not finished so they wouldn't get the full grade.

And others signed in relief that the test was over and done with, Mai in particular as their tests were collected by Professor Katai, who took them over to his desk and got started on grading them, very few of her classmates went up to him to ask about the extra credit question.

"Tell me your not" Asahi asked when she saw Mai deliberating over the fact if she wanted to take a risk with the e.c. their professor was offering that day, unfortunately no one ever said Mai knew when to quit.

Because she went up to Katai "You work for a company called SPR yes…each e.c. question is different for every student, Ms. Taniyama I want you to write a financial report on your company, if I'm satisfied with it, your grade will raise by ten percent" Professor Katai informed.

Inwardly Mai was very relieved that it was something so simple "Consider it done then Professor" Mai smiled, grabbing her bag, eager to get out of the building now that she could since she hadn't been informed of any other tests.

And then will all haste Mai speed-walked, more like ran, back to her apartment where Lin was waiting to take her to Aiko's Daycare "A bit chipper are we" Lin commented on her excitement, something he usually didn't do.

But he still didn't notice yet "I did well on the test, I'm sure, plus I have a chance to raise my overall grade in the class by ten percent, and I'm also getting to see Shion after being separated from her for the last few days" Mai admitted.

Toning down her excitement when he shot her a long suffering look "Naru called, apparently after we left, the spirits in the complex went berserk and they all had a long night over there" Lin informed, relaying what he'd been told to the young woman.

"Oh no, is everyone alright, no one was hurt were they, what about Yamaha-san or any of the residents are they okay" Mai gasped, utterly horrified at the news and guilty that she'd had to leave because she could have helped.

Lin gave her a sideways glance "Everyone is fine, the most that happened was some personal objects were destroyed by the spirits, but Naru wants to move ahead with the plan to purify the grounds" Lin explained.

Not saying what else Naru had told him because he didn't want to alarm Mai as he pulled into the parking lot of Aiko's Daycare "Probably for the best, I swear I won't be long" Mai nodded before jumping from Lin's vehicle to rush into the building.

Less than a second after entering she had her arms full "MAMA" Shion squealed as she threw her arms around her mothers neck and squeezed clearly happy to see her favorite person in the entire world despite trying to blow out her eardrums.

Mai smiled in spite of the ringing in her ears and cuddled Shion closer "Hey Shion, are you behaving well for Aiko-chan….getting along with the other children here at the daycare..good I'm glad" Mai asked getting exuberant nods from the three year old.

Shion snuggled her head into her neck unwilling to let go seeing as every time she did her mother ran off and left her "Go home" Shion inquired as hopefully as she could, Mai winced slightly, and to her horror tears were already gathering in matching doe irises.

"Not yet sweetie, Mama still has a bit of work to do, I promise once the jobs done, we'll spend an entire day together me and you having fun okay" Mai smiled feeling horribly guilty, and out of the corner of her eye she saw Aiko smiling fondly.

Eventually she did put Shion down, arms achingly empty already, and then despite her toddler crying, left the daycare, where she entered Lin's vehicle and buckled in, when he didn't immediately move to start the van she finally looked over at the onmyodo practitioner.

Only to gasp silently in shock upon seeing that Lin was asleep, it was a very rare occurrence and it gave her a moment to admire his masculine profile before shaking her head to rid it of the thought, though Mai was loathe to she gently shook his shoulder.

Did Lin wake up however, no, and now one of her hands was held within his, making her heart do this weird little dance in her chest against her ribs "Lin-san" Mai called after a moment of trying to free her hand.

His eyes snapped open at that and he released her like she was on fire "If your tired, I could drive…don't give me that look Lin-san, I may not own a vehicle, but I do have my license just in case" Mai offered.

A little amused when Lin raised a dark brow a dubious look in his visible iris "Well seeing as you did get a full nights sleep, I suppose I can leave the rest to you, shopping for the ritual items and the like correct" Lin narrowed his gaze on her.

Exhausted though he didn't want to show it "Yes Lin-san, I'm more than capable" Mai assured, hearing the nearly silent sigh of relief that she was pretty sure Lin had meant to be completely imperceptible to her.

Then for perhaps the first time in all the time they'd known each other Lin was sat in the back of his car, or more like laying down in the back seat, suit jacket being used as a pseudo blanket while she checked to make sure it would be easy driving Lin's vehicle.

And just as soft snoring came from the backseat, Mai was starting the car and pulling out of the parking lot of Aiko's Daycare, she had to be extra quiet when she stopped by the grocery store to buy the list of ritual items.

Along with sandwiches in case Lin woke up and was hungry then she set the destination in the gps and started the long drive back to the rest of the team was, like Mai suspected, Lin woke at noon just as she was pulling into a little gas station.

"Taniyama-san why are we stopping" Lin asked, like the concept of potty breaks didn't even occur to him and she shot him an uncomfortable look that he was able to decipher right before she shoved a sandwich at him.

Followed by unbuckling the seat belt and fleeing the vehicle like a mad woman, when she returned Lin was putting gas in the tank "Sleep well" Mai inquired, hoping that he had and thankfully he nodded.

But that didn't mean he was fully rested however because after buying some cold drinks from the station she was once again in the drivers seat, driving the rest of the way back to the apartment complex.

It was a long silent drive that almost drove her to tears out of sheer boredom and just as she was really about to go stir-crazy, she pulled into the parking lot of the Yamaha Complex, twenty minutes past five.

Mai was also the first person out of the car, sighing in relief as she was able to stretch and move around, then she grabbed the bag with her university text books and started to head towards the complex only to be stopped by Lin.

Who put a hand on her shoulder "Thank you Mai, Naru often forgets that I need sleep as well, so that was considerate of you and though I cringe at the idea, should you ever need a babysitter for Shion-san again you can ask me" Lin said.

Stunning her and while she was in her stupor made a hasty retreat back inside, upon seeing that he was leaving her behind Mai hurried after Lin, where everyone on the team was glad to see them returned which meant they could move on with their plan and thus came an end to their fourth day on the case.


	7. Case 2: The Haunted Complex (End)

The following two days were hectic as the SPR team prepared to perform the ritual that would purify the entire grounds, however before sunrise on the morning they were ready to do said ritual at exactly 3 in the morning.

Mai got a frantic phone call from Aiko after dreaming about her daughter "Hello" Mai answered her phone tone thick with sleep and the voice that came from the other end alarmed her as she listened to Aiko.

'_I don't know what to do Mai-chan, Shion-chan's missing, nothings out of the place, the windows are locked shut, but the crib is empty' _Aiko cried, prompting panic in Mai, until she became very aware of something cuddled into her side.

A familiar warmth that she recognized all to well and a quick look confirmed her suspicions "Aiko-chan it's okay, Shion is safe" Mai assured calmly trying her damnedest not to freak out herself as Shion peered up at her with matching mahogany irises.

After a couple more minutes, Aiko managed to calm down, and to trust her before hanging up and then seeing as she probably wouldn't be getting anymore sleep that night, Mai stood, scooping Shion up into her arms.

Before exiting the room she was sharing with Chiaki to the one Naru was sharing with Lin right across the hall, there was a light shining out from underneath the door and she knocked lightly on it until it opened to let her see within.

Lin stared down at the young woman with something akin to shock in his visible iris "Taniyama-san what's going on" Lin frowned eyeing the toddler in Mai's arms, a toddler who should by all means not even be there but somehow was.

She didn't get to answer just yet as Naru came to the door only to gape "Mai how is Shion here" Kazuya scowled at the nineteen year old and got a scowl back that Shion thought was funny as the little girl clapped her hands and laughed.

Until her mother shushed her since there were people still sleeping "Shion can apparently astral project herself to people, me specifically" Mai explained in a completely dead serious tone of voice.

Shion getting the feeling that she'd done something she wasn't supposed hid her face into her mothers neck with a small whimper "Wonderful is there anything else we should know about your daughter" Naru groaned not in the least bit amused about the situation that had just developed.

Especially on the day they were going to get rid of all the spirits on the grounds where Yamaha Complex was built "You think I find this funny do you Naru" Mai snapped, causing her boss to flinch as he realized that his statement hadn't been received well.

"Kami only knows how I wish Shion was normal, instead I get to play the guessing game at what she's going to do next and be afraid for her because she's so little and doesn't understand" Mai glared, tears in her eyes.

Seeing that her nerves were already frayed from the revelation that Shion could astral project herself to places and were actually about to snap, Lin put a hand on Mai's shoulder "Naru could have said that better yes, but your not alone anymore Taniyama-san" Lin soothed.

Just like that the tears dissipated "Yes I know Lin-san but in spite of that knowledge I still fear" Mai wiped her eyes dry as she rubbed little Shion's back, who let out little sniffles, Naru let his gaze soften at this.

"Go back to bed Mai, you won't be any good to us if your exhausted in the morning when we're performing the ritual" Naru ordered a lot kinder than usual, because he didn't want to set her off again and have Shion cry any more than she already was.

Mai slumped her shoulders before turning and heading back into her shared room with Chiaki, it took some shifting until Shion was settled comfortably on her chest, being lulled to sleep as she hummed a lullaby and not long after Mai followed her daughter in sleep herself.

At seven Mai was awake again, taking care in sitting up seeing that Shion was still asleep thank the kami though it took a bit of convincing on her part to keep her roommate from freaking out upon seeing the toddler.

Needless to say that wasn't the only bit of freaking out that happened as everyone that was part of the team freaked when they learned that Shion had astral projected herself to Mai "Guess it's not to much of a stretch" Takigawa commented.

Remembering back to the haunted mansion when Mai had astral projected a key to Masako, once everyone had calmed down that is "True, and now that she's here there's not much we can really do" Ayako nodded.

Worried in spite of that "Still to think that a toddler has such advanced powers that's amazing Mai" Chiaki chimed in, and winced when Mai shot her a flat smile, clearly thinking the opposite and she supposed she could understand the young woman.

Of course Mai wouldn't think her daughter, who was three, having such advanced powers was amazing, Shion was a toddler who wouldn't understand that there was a great responsibility in having powers yet "Are we still going through with our plan" Masako questioned.

Covering her mouth with her kimono sleeve "Yes, everyone's been evacuated according to Daichiro-san, so all that's left is to diminish the amount of spirits in here then exorcise the main spirit that is haunting this complex" Naru informed.

Snapping a file shut to glare around the table at his team members, he didn't find a single person who would speak up and argue with him thankfully "For safety reasons I think you should leave Shion with Yasuhara" Lin added.

Looking straight at Mai who would be in the thick of things probably, while Yasuhara would be on the outside since he was mostly just his assistant and had no powers of his own like the rest of the team did.

"Great idea, I solemnly swear to take care of Shion-chan" Yasu perked up, interest gleaming in his dark grey orbs, Mai finally cracked a smile, her first one of the morning, her eyes softened, easing some tension from her impossibly tense shoulders.

Relaxing some of the others at the table to "On that note we should probably start getting set up for things" John stood, eager to put this case behind them already since it had dragged on much longer than usual.

This prompted the others to stand as well where Mai passed Shion over to Yasu, the 3 year old still sleeping to everyone's relief because they knew that if Shion was awake, Mai would be to distracted to work.

As they went around setting up until it was finally time to lower the amount of spirits in the Complex "You ready for this Mai" Chiaki inquired, rubbing her arms and feeling more nervous than ever in that moment.

Why wouldn't she be, unlike the others she had no experience on cases that SPR undertook "Beyond ready, somethings going to happen but we're going to handle it and go home knowing that we helped when someone really needed it" Mai declared.

Prepared for anything just as confirmation came via a text message that Takigawa was starting, almost immediately the temperature began dropping in the building, the two young women, tensed in anticipation.

Their breaths became visible and goosebumps broke out on their flesh right as the first spirits appeared "Rin, Pyou, Tou, Sha, Kai, Jin, Retsu, Zai, Zen" Mai chanted the nine cuts, focusing her will on exorcising the ghosts.

Chiaki on the other hand, used her powers to block objects that were thrown at Mai as she forcibly removed spirits one right after the next "Nau-Maku-San-Manda-Bazara-Dankan" Mai switched to the mantra of the immovable one.

Extremely focused at the moment, all thoughts on closing this case of the haunted apartment complex, another text came through "Mai, Shibuya-san says it's time to begin the cleansing of the remaining spirits with the four cardinal direction ritual" Chiaki announced.

Relaying the new information to her companion, Mai nodded, wiped some sweat from her forehead, then took some sage from her pocket along with a match and lit the sage, beginning a whole new chant that was meant for cleansing places.

She was making her third circuit around the assigned area waving the sage around, when a smell the likes of which Chiaki had never smelt before filled their nostrils and she nearly puked "What is that, it's awful" Chiaki gagged, covering her nose as her eyes burned.

"Our main ghost Chiaki, get ready because here it comes" Mai grimaced, having smelt similar smells so she was able to control her gag reflex better, a dark shape materialized before them at the end of the hallway.

Malice oozed from its very being as it steadily came closer to Mai and Chiaki's position "MAI, CHIAKI, GET DOWN" Takigawa yelled from behind the ghost with a deep seated grudge, already chanting the mantra of the immovable one.

Unfortunately the distraction of him yelling caused things to go pear-shaped on them as the spiteful ghost rushed Mai, enveloping her and the last thing Mai heard was Chiaki screaming as she was sucked into a world of oblivion.

The next thing Mai knew she was waking up on concrete "Haven't had one of these for awhile" Mai winced, realizing that she was dreaming of past events, of when the prison that had once stood on Yamaha Complex was still around.

Looking around she noted that she was in a prison cell and she wasn't alone, there laying on a futon was Kaoru Irving, Mai tensed when she heard footsteps, the cell door opened to reveal a young Arai Kibishi.

And she understood that this was the day Kaoru had been suffocated as Arai took the pillow he'd brought with him and pressed it over Kaoru's face who woke up and began struggling "There that takes care of this undeserving bastard" Arai said decisively.

When Kaoru's struggles ceased and he became still with no more life left in his breast, Mai's heart ached for the innocent man but there was more to her dream as she was pulled away from the prison cell into an office this time.

Arai was interviewing a young woman who wished to become a warden of the prison, her thoughts were projected quite clearly into Mai's 'And I'll make sure to find evidence of this bastards treachery for killing Kaoru' the woman vowed.

"So Kaoru-san had a fiancee who sought justice for him after his disappearance from the prison" Mai mused, being dragged along here and there, learning more information and it was then that she remembered the forty year old unsolved murder case.

It all revolved around Kaoru's fiancee apparently as she investigated the prison until finally catching Arai in the act of murdering the inmates by suffocating them in their sleep before she was subsequently killed herself.

Documents went missing that she'd written up, all proof of illegal dealings going on in the prison and were buried right alongside her "Gotcha" Mai nodded, knowing who the spiteful spirit was now "We'll make sure he gets his just deserts Sayori-san" Mai assured.

Feeling the ghost's presence, Kaoru's fiancee to be precise, but when Mai tried to wake up she found it impossible until a familiar weight settled in her arms "Mama time to wake up" Shion smiled brightly up at her mother.

Radiating a pure light that caused the spirit to withdraw, on the outside, still covered in the darkness of the malevolent spirit of Sayori, "Shion" Yasu jolted when the little girl disappeared from his arms and brilliant light filled their eyes.

So pure and radiant that it made the ghost with a grudge to recoil and release it's hostage to reveal Mai with Shion in her arms now, a golden shield surrounding the two from the toddler, Mai's awakening was slow.

As she to began radiating with the same light, that swept outwards, cleansing all remaining spirits from the apartment complex "Mai are you alright" Chiaki leaped forward, hugging onto the brunette investigator the moment the golden glow faded.

Mai squinted her eyes trying to adjust to the darkness of the hallway "I think so" Mai blinked, feeling exhausted all of a sudden, everyone let out sighs of relief in response, upon seeing that she was going to be just fine.

"Okay then let me be the first one to ask what the hell was that Mai" Takigawa jumped in, frowning down at the nineteen year old and got a scathing glare shot his way and he realized that he'd cursed in front of Shion.

Something that Mai extremely disapproved of "Your asking me why...because I'm just as freaked as the rest of you are, I had no idea Shion could do that" Mai scowled, before sighing wearily, whatever she'd done had used a lot of energy.

Takigawa groaned and rubbed his forehead "Come on there's no point in harassing Mai over this especially when our work here is done and we can finally start heading home" Ayako reminded giddily, ready to go home.

But Mai had to burst her bubble "Not yet, Kaoru-san deserves justice, I had one of my dreams while I was unconscious, we have a forty year old murder case to finally solve after all this time, I know where she's buried, after that we can leave" Mai said.

In a tone that brokered no arguments because she wouldn't back down on this, she wouldn't be a very good criminology student if she left this case unsolved "Show us, Lin, call the police, let them know we're about to solve that case" Naru ordered.

Letting Mai take the lead for once as she cradled a sleeping Shion in her arms, apparently having fallen back to sleep after helping her mother cleanse the entire apartment complex of any remaining spirits.

Fifteen minutes later they were stood outside "She's here, six feet under with countless other bodies of inmates Arai Kibishi murdered" Mai declared once she came to a stop, glad that her dream ability was coming in handy.

Two hours later once the police had arrived after Lin had called them and they were all stood around waiting, Sayori's body was dug up and along with her were all the missing documents in a sealed box "Can't believe forty years later and this case is finally closed" the detective sighed.

Glad that they had a suspect and that they could arrest him "Good work Mai" Lin clasped the young woman's shoulder and squeezed it briefly, using her first name instead of her last for once to everyone else's shock.

Including Naru's who had been seeing a whole new side to his bodyguard/assistant lately "I guess that's, that then" John commented, following the others as they headed back into the complex and to the suite they'd been staying in for the past week to pack their things.

"Yeah rather anticlimactic to be honest, Mai kinda stole the whole show today, Shion to" Takigawa huffed and was promptly ignored by everyone including Mai as she disappeared into her shared room Chiaki on her heels.

Who was feeling mighty guilty about being unable to protect Mai during the incident "Don't Chiaki there was nothing you could have done against something like that" Mai soothed, seeing the worried looks as Chiaki wrung her hands.

The silver haired woman frowned "But I failed in protecting you Mai, Shibuya-san trusted me yet I let him down" Chiaki creased her forehead, revealing a second reason as to why she was worried, Naru might decide that he didn't want to hire her anymore because of that.

"First rule Chiaki of being a spiritualist and on a case, always expect for the most carefully laid out plans to fail, no one could have predicted that so you can't be blamed for it and Naru will understand" Mai assured.

Her fears assuaged for the moment, Chiaki hurriedly packed her things, then helped deconstruct the base by carting all the equipment back to Lin's van, right before they left Daichiro approached them one last time.

And bowed his head "Thank you all for helping me, now there is nothing left to fear as all the spirits are taken care of correct" Daichiro asked, wanting a second confirmation just to be sure that there would be no more haunting's in his apartment complex.

Naru pivoted on his heel to face his client "Correct Yamaha-san, every last spirit was cleansed or exorcised by my employees, no more spirits can reside there, probably never" Naru assured, knowing that after Mai and Shion's display the place was as holy as it could be.

Lin had sensed residual powers left behind in the wake of their combined ability that would continually cleanse any spirit or ghost that tried to haunt the place for a long time, Daichiro nodded at this and hurried off to let the residents know they could now return to their apartments.

Then Naru faced a silent Chiaki "Kasai-san excellent work, I extend the same offer as before, come work for SPR" Kazuya offered a second time, having seen how dedicated the young woman had been to the case and helping out this past week.

Chiaki smiled at him "Yes of course, I accept, there are a few things I need to do of course but I'll be seeing you soon Shibuya-san" Chiaki informed, dark brown orbs sparkling as she waved, Naru nodded then climbed into Lin's van in the passenger seat.

Mai was stuck in the back with Shion buckled into a car-seat that had been procured from somewhere by Lin, Mai waved at Chiaki as Lin pulled out of the parking lot and two hours later they were back home at the SPR building.

Everyone was glad to be back in home territory "Thank the kami that's over" Yasu yawned, tired from the case like the others, Mai especially who had actually fallen asleep listening to one of her class lectures during the ride back.

"Though it's nice we'll be having a new face on the team now" John chimed in, watching on in amusement as Houshou tried to wake Mai only to have Shion throw her sippy cup at the man, the lid popped off, splashing him with orange juice.

Ayako smirked "Leave her be Monk, there's no need to wake Mai just yet not until absolutely necessary besides it's obvious Shion-chan thinks the same" Ayako cooed at the adorable toddler that was puffing her cheeks up at Takigawa.

Houshou realizing he wasn't getting anywhere conceded defeat at the hands of the three year old "On that note I'll be leaving" Masako informed, seeing her ride already waiting for her, glad that they were being given a break.

Courtesy of Naru "Same here, tell Mai I'll bring Shion's stuff from Aiko's place tomorrow" Yasu announced, climbing back into his own vehicle, next were Ayako, Houshou and John until it was just Naru, Lin, Shion and the unconscious Mai.

"Take her home Lin and tell her that she'll have the next few days off and here's her pay, tell her to get a new cell phone, the speaker is going out on it" Naru ordered his assistant, Lin nodded, accepted the pay Mai had earned.

Then climbed back into his van, half an hour later he was pulling into the parking lot in front of Mai's apartment "Taniyama-san wake up" Lin called, knowing that now was the best time to wake the young woman.

She jolted awake and nearly whacked her head on the roof of the car in the process "Huh oh are we back already…wait this is my apartment what are we doing here, where is everyone else" Mai rambled, obviously confused.

Since she'd been asleep "We got back almost an hour ago, it was decided that we should let you sleep but now that we're back at your apartment I thought it was time to wake you up, Naru said you have a few days off and here's your pay for the work you did" Lin informed.

Relaying the information he'd been given by Naru to Mai who accepted her paycheck "He also said to get a new cellphone" Lin deadpanned knowing that if he didn't say anything Naru would be unhappy with him.

Especially if Mai came back to work with the same phone "Yeah I noticed the speaker was going on out on, perhaps Michiru and I can go shopping tomorrow after I pick up Shion's things from Aiko's" Mai mused.

Getting a chuckle "No need, Yasuhara-san said he'd drop them off for you tomorrow, for now eat dinner and get some rest Mai" Lin said, even going so far as to help the young woman carry her bags back into the apartment.

Mai wanted to fall asleep the moment he left but knew that wasn't a wise idea "Okay, supper first…and of course I'm completely out of groceries, guess it's the bistro again" Mai sighed reaching up and opening her cabinet only to find it empty.

Shion was strapped into the stroller beside the door after some struggling "Perhaps I'll get a new stroller and high chair tomorrow to" Mai groaned, glad that she was receiving a higher pay now and could actually afford new things that she'd been in dire need of recently.

Dinner at the bistro was a quiet affair seeing as the owner had already left for the day and after paying for her and Shion's meal, Mai strapped her daughter back into the stubborn stroller and set off for home again.

Arriving right as Michiru do "Mai-chan, Shion-chan your back, does that mean you solved your case" Michiru launched herself at her best friend before scooping Shion from the stroller as Mai unlocked the door for them.

Tea was made that was one thing she still had in her cabinets to Mai's exasperation and once Shion was bathed and put down in her crib the two best friends settled on the couch "Case is solved and I learned a couple new things about Shion" Mai admitted.

Having been terrified out of her mind "Okay so I get that you can't really go into much detail about the cases and all now that Naru's back in town, confidentiality and all that but what does Shion have to do with anything I thought she was at the daycare the entire time" Michiru asked.

With a frown "Yeah that was until she astral projected herself to me yesterday morning and apparently Shion's a shield against the paranormal and I can enhance her power according to Lin-san" Mai grimaced.

Still struggling to accept these new revelations "Your joking right….your not, oh my god that must have been scary, is she okay what about you, now that I'm looking you do seem to be quite tired" Michiru gasped in horror.

Glad that there was someone else who felt mostly the same way she had about the situation Mai smiled "I'm okay, so is Shion, but we used up a lot of energy doing that whole shielding thing which made us exhausted" Mai nodded.

Michiru sighed in relief that nothing truly horrible had happened "Anyway since you take online classes now that means you can hang out with me, so tomorrow I'm taking you shopping, no objections got that Mai" Michiru glared at her friend.

Thinking that Mai was going to refuse because the young woman hated going shopping "You don't have to worry Michiru-chan, I was already thinking of asking you if you'd come with me as there are some things I need to get" Mai assured.

Twenty minutes later once the tea was drained and the dishes were washed, Michiru bid Mai farewell for the night and soon the brunette paranormal investigator was sprawled out in her bed sleeping the rest of the night away.


	8. University Woes

Mai woke to the wailing of her daughter the following morning "What a way to start the day ugh" the brunette groaned to herself as she flipped the covers from her body and crawled out of bed and nearly tripping in her haste to get to Shion's room.

Who quit crying the moment she saw her mother "Up" Shion demanded, raising her little arms, clearly intending on being as clingy as possible, fortunately for her Mai was quite content to cave in to the three year old's demand.

"Time for breakfast…at the bistro again" Mai declared before remembering that her cabinets were bare, so after dressing both herself and Shion it was off to her former workplace, the owner was glad to see her with the little lass as he called Shion.

Over half an hour later they were headed back to the apartment in time to catch Yasuhara arriving with all of Shion's things from Aiko's "And here I thought I'd have to pound to wake you up Mai" Yasu chuckled.

Earning a mock scowl "I'd like to see anyone sleep through a three year old screaming at the top of her lungs" Mai snorted lightly, unlocking the door to admit them into the apartment and Shion was deposited in her playpen.

Yasu nodded in understanding "Guess that's true, anyway Aiko-chan wants you to give her a call sometime but this is everything you brought I hope" Yasu gestured to the bag filled with Shion's things that Mai had packed for her daughter.

A quick scan let Mai know that everything was indeed there "Yes, thanks Yasu and I will, probably after I get done shopping, now that I have my first paycheck there are many things I have to buy" Mai admitted.

Spying the envelope with her check in it on her rickety table, "Well good luck with that and shopping Mai, I'll see you in a few days or so when we're back on the job" Yasuhara waved, heading back out the door.

Leaving the Taniyama's to themselves for the next couple of hours, in that time Mai went around making a list of things that she needed for the house until Michiru showed up to take them shopping "So do you know what your getting besides groceries" Michiru questioned.

When they arrived at the store "Mhm, a new phone for sure and a few other things that I'm taking a wait and see stance on, cause I don't want to overspend" Mai informed as she buckled Shion into the cart seat.

Michiru grinned as they went around grabbing things off shelves and tallying things off the list Mai had made while waiting to go shopping "And I think that's it for now, that's enough to last a week if I'm careful" Mai declared.

Once she'd grabbed everything, "Next is the electronics store right Mai" Michiru guessed, helping to load her car's trunk with the groceries Mai had bought to fill her cabinets at the apartment, again Mai nodded.

So it was off to the next store that she majorly needed to visit "Hmm what do you think Michiru-chan, this one or this one" Mai asked twenty minutes later, holding up two different types of phones.

Shion enraptured with the music blaring through the store from high tech speakers "This one" Michiru announced, holding out a Samsung Galaxy Tab A that was 8.4 inches and had 32 gigabits "Better for face timing people" Michiru said quite proud of herself.

With a quick scanning of the price which was a whopping zero at the moment and only 11 dollars a month total, Mai got the tablet and waited patiently as her number and contacts were transferred over "Furniture store" Mai stated.

Knowing that she had enough to get one of the three things she seriously needed that day while putting the rest away for emergencies and the like "Okay then it will be back to the apartment right or do you want to get lunch after this" Michiru asked.

A grumble from Shion was her answer "Lunch first at the restaurant there then the furniture store" Mai shook her head in amusement, not wanting to be accused of starving her daughter so it was off to another restaurant.

Where Shion was fawned over by the waitresses "Goodness your little sister is practically a spitting image of yourself miss" the woman who came to take their order commented, peering down at the toddler in the highchair.

"Daughter Ma'am….she's my daughter, she got none of her Father's looks thankfully" Mai admitted, wincing when she got a disgusted look thrown her way, it was how people treated her sometimes when they found out Shion was her daughter and that she was a teenage mother.

Thankfully their orders came quickly and they ate just as fast before leaving "I really hate it when people judge you for something you had no control over Mai" Michiru scowled unhappily as they pulled up into the parking lot of a furniture store.

Mai had the same feelings "Me to Michiru-chan but there is nothing that I can do about it, people are always going to judge others despite not knowing my or others situations and the circumstances that led to me being pregnant or others" Mai shrugged.

Having grown up a lot, Michiru sighed, but they ran into the store real quick and got a new kitchen table, it being Mai's highest priority at the moment above even the stroller and highchair because Shion's safety came first.

Then it was finally back to Mai's apartment, where the groceries were unloaded and put away and while Shion played in her playpen the two friends put together the new table that was much sturdier before throwing out the old one.

They even went so far as to look at the highchair to see if it was fixable, the screws in the hinge needed to be tightened and it was practically like new again "Well, guess I better get going Mai" Michiru said as Mai started prepping things for dinner.

"Yeah, see you Michiru-chan, I'll call you tomorrow morning" Mai waved, walking Michiru to the door before shutting and locking it behind her, next she returned to her little kitchen, popped the airpods into her ears and dialed Aiko's number.

Remembering that she'd promised Yasu she'd call the woman _"Mai is that you…oh thank god, I wasn't sure if you were mad at me or not for letting Shion cause trouble like that" _Aiko picked up after the second ring and let out a sigh of relief.

"Of course I'm not mad Aiko especially not at you because none of us could have predicted that Shion can astral project herself to people, though it seems to be limited thankfully" Mai assured as she diced some onions for a stir fry.

Aiko seemed even more relieved at that _"Is it true what Osamu-kun said that Shion-chan actually helped you cleanse the apartment complex your case was at" _Aiko inquired curiously, Yasu had told her the barest amount that had happened on their case.

Mai smiled in amusement "He spoke the truth Aiko-chan as unbelievable as it sounds, when I was stuck in a dream, Shion appeared in my arms and shone with a golden radiance, I did to but Shion was the hero yesterday" Mai chattered.

Only pausing as she heard a noise over the airpods a quick look told Mai that Shion had massacred her building blocks again _"What's that" _Aiko questioned, having heard the noise as well and loud giggling that came from a toddler.

"Oh Shion just massacred her building blocks again, I really don't see how she finds it so funny every single time but whatever keeps her occupied right" Mai intoned humorously with a shake of her head at her daughters maniacal laughter.

Eventually Aiko had to end the phone call as she got a call from a potential new client leaving Mai to finish making dinner for herself and Shion "Mama tired" Shion accused when she was heaved into Mai's arms once supper was ready to be eaten.

And strapped into her highchair "That I am Shion-chan but Mama can't go to sleep yet" Mai yawned not lying to her daughter as they ate, afterwards Mai cleaned up and deposited Shion in her playpen again.

Before turning on the laptop to get some work done as late in the day as it was, she wasn't the type of person to procrastinate on her homework anymore regardless of whether she could take her classes online or not.

She didn't work hard for good grades only to let them go down the drain after all, five minutes after eleven, long after she'd put Shion to bed, Mai got a phone call _"Hello Mai…it's Chiaki Kasai, I got your number before you left" _Chiaki's voice sounded through the headphones.

"Nice to hear from you again Chiaki so what are you calling so late for…not that I have a problem with it or anything" Mai asked, hurriedly assuring Chiaki that she wasn't upset or anything that she was calling so late just curious.

Chiaki smiled unbeknownst to the brunette investigator _"Good to know Mai…anyway I was wondering if you knew of any nice apartments in your area, see I took Shibuya-san's offer but in order to work for him I have to move closer since I'm three hours away"_ Chiaki questioned.

Waiting with held breath for Mai's response "Let me see, I think I have a catalogue of apartments for rent nearby somewhere" Mai mused, shuffling around some papers until she found what she was looking for and listed off the available apartments.

One of which was for the same price she'd gotten hers at and was literally across the street _"That's perfect, we could carpool together"_ Chiaki exclaimed happily, wanting to be close to Mai for the time being until she found her way in the new city she was moving to.

Mai chuckled lightly at the other woman's apparent excitement "Right see you in a few days then Chiaki, on that note I'm going to hit the hay, I intend on sleeping in as long as I'm able tomorrow" Mai informed.

Finally hanging up and going to bed at 11:30 p.m. and just like she'd promised Chiaki, Mai slept in until at least nine the next morning before Shion decided to scream her head off "I'm up, I'm up" Mai jerked out of bed and rushed to her daughters room at exactly 9:01.

Needless to say Shion was not happy with her mother given the sulking she was doing at the moment even as Mai hurriedly made breakfast and fed it to her, while she was making her own breakfast that was different to Shion's.

A knock sounded and she went to answer the door "Ah" Lin greeted as the door swung open when he had been preparing to knock again "One of my shiki alerted me that there was someone peeking into Shion's room window" Lin informed.

The main reason for his visit and Mai's heart dropped at the news "What….maybe that's why she was screaming so loudly a while ago, did your shiki happen to say when this happened" Mai asked, clutching her heart, more fearful than ever for her daughter.

"Very early around 3 in the morning it was of the human variety but still alarming nonetheless, seeing as it's in our best interests to keep Shion-san from harm, Naru requested I come place a barrier to prevent someone from breaking in" Lin explained.

Feeling bad for imparting this kind of news on the young woman who'd clearly already been through enough as she rubbed her face tiredly and now she had to worry about someone intruding and attempting to kidnap her daughter.

Which is why Naru had suggested he come to her apartment and put protections in place "Come on in then Lin-san, you know where Shion's room is" Mai sighed, glad that someone had been looking out for them during the night.

Lin nodded and padded barefoot through the small apartment to the three year old's room to place wards on the window "Coffee or tea" Mai called over her shoulder when Lin emerged fifteen minutes later as she was plating up her food.

He quirked an ebony brow in response before shrugging and gesturing to carafe of coffee "Tea won't cut it this morning" Lin said, taking a seat in the remaining chair at the brand new kitchen table as Mai poured him a cup of straight black coffee.

"I got some news from Chiaki, she'll be moving in to the apartment across the street and will be here in a couple of days" Mai informed, deciding to share that information with Lin so that he'd be well informed.

And so that Naru could be warned of Chiaki's impending arrival date "Quick and efficient, Naru will like that I'm sure" Lin snorted lightly as he took a sip of the piping hot liquid that had been set before him without adding any cream or sugar to it.

Mai didn't even bat an eye at him drinking the coffee straight but nodded "Yeah I'm sure as well…though you should be happy about not having to waste gas to come pick me up anymore, Chiaki wants to carpool" Mai admitted.

Somewhere deep inside of him, Lin felt slight disappointment over the fact that he wouldn't be able to pick up or drop Mai off anymore but he slammed a lid over that emotion trying to snuff it out valiantly.

For now it seemed to be working as he kept up with his usual expression and finished off his coffee "With that I should head back to the office" Lin stood, going so far as to wash the coffee mug before leaving.

Wanting to get out before he felt anymore emotions towards the young woman and soon he was back in his office, typing away on his keyboard, while Mai went about her day, enjoying the weekend for the first time in a long time.

Two days later, Mai watched a dark brown volkswagen roll up the short driveway of the apartment across the street from hers and a moment later Chiaki emerged from the vehicle "So what's the plan" Chiaki asked.

Once she'd crossed the street to where Mai was standing on her little porch, Shion still inside "Well, Naru said that it's unlikely we'll have a new case for awhile so we should enjoy the downtime while we can, so I decided to help you unpack and move in" Mai said.

Chiaki smiled "And here I thought Shibuya-san was nothing but a slave driver who couldn't even contemplate the meaning of taking a break sometimes, I mean he was even working while in the hospital that one time remember" Chiaki snorted.

Mai burst out laughing "Your totally right, I nearly forgot that actually…though I think Naru realizes he can't get away with how he treated us as before so is employing new tactics to make us, his employee's happy and keep us that way as well" Mai explained.

"So my stuff isn't going to be here for a couple more hours, is there anything you need to do before it does arrive" Chiaki inquired, watching Mai with a frown as the brunette glanced around warily for a moment.

Then turn on her heel, gesturing with her hand and led the way into her own apartment "Yeah I might make a quick jog down to my university, hand in my extra credit, then go pick up Shion from Michiru's" Mai stated.

Grabbing her e.c. report for her accounting and finance class "Can I ask what was up with that wary look around a minute ago" Chiaki questioned, following after Mai as they began the fifteen minute walk to Mai's college.

She tensed for a brief second "There is someone who's been peeking into Shion's room the past few nights, that's why I had her stay with Michiru" Mai frowned, more than a little annoyed by the whole thing.

It was even beginning to upset Shion, who was an absolute nightmare to calm down sometimes "Well if I catch him I'll knock him flat out" Chiaki promised, wanting to help where she could now that she was nearby.

This earned her a small smile right as they reached the university "Do they accept late entree's" the silver haired woman asked curiously, wondering if she shouldn't at least attempt to learn something new.

Now that she was close to a really good college "Sure they do Chiaki but be prepared to study for your life, the only reason I didn't have to take the entrance exam was because I had a scholarship" Mai informed lightly.

Disappearing off down the hall in the next moment "Ah Mai-chan your back from work right, does that mean you have time to join us for a mixer tonight" Midori popped up the moment her brunette haired classmate entered the classroom.

A refusal was on the tip of her tongue "Okay, as long as I can bring along a friend of mine who is going to be taking the late entrance exam possibly" Mai said instead, deciding to branch out and make new friends for once.

"Great, we'll see you at eight Mai, dress in whatever makes you comfortable, there will be one other with us making it a total of five girls going to the mixer and you don't have to stay if you get to uncomfortable" Midori declared.

Wanting to let Mai know she wasn't going to force her to stay if she didn't want to in case the guys got to pushy "Thanks Midori, alright I'll see you" Mai waved, handing her e.c. report over to Professor Katai as he appeared in the classroom.

Two minutes later she was back to find Chiaki waiting for her "I signed up for a few classes, basic criminology, linguistics and forensic science and the test is next Sunday" Chiaki announced, following Mai's lead as they headed back for the apartments.

"Nice, also I uh kinda of invited you to tag along with me to a mixer tonight, a few of my classmates have been urging me to join them for awhile so I thought I'd go, you don't have to come if you don't want to though" Mai informed.

Chiaki blinked at Mai "Didn't think that you'd really be into that whole dating scene, especially with literal strangers" Chiaki commented lightly, hinting that she knew about what had happened courtesy of Naru probably.

Mai tensed her shoulders briefly "Normally I wouldn't and I probably won't be getting together with any of the guys there, I'm going to have fun mostly" Mai stated simply not interested in dating at the moment.

Beside her Chiaki nodded "Oh…I suppose that's understandable, in that case I'll go with you, no need to have Shibuya-san bite my head off if something happened to you, but what about Shion, I thought you were going to pick her up" Chiaki reminded.

"Relax Chiaki, Michiru will understand, in fact if she were here she'd be the one shoving me out the door to go have fun and I'm sure Shion will enjoy spending another night with her" Mai soothed with a chuckle.

Helping the silver haired woman calm some "By the way Chiaki, you don't have to keep calling him Shibuya-san, you can call him Naru now" Mai pat Chiaki's hand with a grin as they reached her apartment and went in.

In the nick of time to, to hear her phone or rather tablet ringing _"Hello, Mai-chan, it's Michiru…I was wondering if you wouldn't mind letting me keep Shion-chan for another night, you need to have some fun and that's an order" _Michiru said the moment Mai had answered.

"Was already planning on going out but now I don't have to ask if you want to watch Shion for tonight again" Mai snickered, glad that Michiru was her best friend, she swore sometimes they could read each others minds.

Michiru spent a little more time with her on the phone before hanging up "Shouldn't be to much longer" Chiaki noted after checking the time, it was almost lunch and she wondered what Mai intended on doing for the afternoon meal.

Though she didn't have to wonder to long as Mai started reaching for one of her cabinets "Lunch here or at the bistro…that's right you don't know about it do you, it's where I waitressed for a year, it's serves all kinds of different sandwiches" Mai explained.

Only realizing that Chiaki didn't know about her former workplace when the woman furrowed her brow "Bistro, that way I know where it is" Chiaki decided, Mai smiled then grabbed her keys again so they could head out.

And Chiaki thoroughly enjoyed her toasted cheese and balsamic shallot sandwich, clearly enjoying the more exotic foods while Mai had a simple four cheese grilled sandwich with pink hibiscus tea.

When they got back the moving company was there along with all of Chiaki's stuff, "Jerks the least they could have done was help" Mai glared at the movers backs as they left them to do all the heavy lifting and moving.

Until Chiaki smiled "Calm down Mai, I requested it this way" Chiaki said, closing her eyes and focusing her will and intent on all of her belongings, they promptly started floating "See I improved" Chiaki informed.

Concentrating as she directed her things ahead of her into the apartment until she was all moved in basically "Better be careful Chiaki, Naru doesn't approve of showing off" Mai teased lightly, in awe of the older woman's power.

It had definitely grown since the last time they'd seen each other "I'll remember to be careful then" Chiaki shrugged knowing she didn't have to worry to much since she didn't really like displaying her powers much.

And she had a feeling that Naru was going to keep her on Mai watch duty for most of their cases, which meant she wouldn't have to use her powers all that much "So what time did your classmates say to show up or even where to go" Chiaki inquired.

Once she'd arranged her things how she wanted them in the two bedroom apartment "Eight and my guess is their favorite restaurant half a block from the college, it's where most of them hang out anyway" Mai waved her hand.

Peeking at her phone/tablet, really what was she thinking letting Michiru pick this huge thing out for her to carry around, to check the time it was a little after three "Pretty sure that doesn't constitute as a phone Mai" Chiaki pointed out.

"Yeah I know….but there's no use in complaining about it now that I already have it" Mai deadpanned, the two women stared at one another for a moment then burst out laughing, leaning against each other as they chuckled over their ridiculousness.

Before finally calming down "Kami I almost forgot what it was like to have female friends who didn't hate me solely based on the reasoning that I have powers or because I threatened to curse them to death" Chiaki wiped her tears of mirth away.

If anyone could understand it was Mai "True, I nearly lost all my friends when it turned out I was pregnant with Shion, that was when I learned who my real friends were, or rather single friend, Michiru who stayed with me throughout the entire pregnancy" Mai said.

Opening up a little "And she's still around" Chiaki reminded, patting Mai on the shoulder as they lounged around for awhile until dinner, then the two women decided it was time to start getting ready for their night out.

First by taking showers before rooting around in their closets for appropriate clothing, for Mai, she chose a shirt that cinched at the waist and flared out down her hips with elbow length sleeves in dark pink, a pair of black leggings and a dark blue ruffle skirt with one inch heels to complete the look.

As for Chiaki she chose a simple spaghetti strapped dark silver dress with a short sleeved matching jacket, gray leggings and black two inch heels "Wow you look amazing Mai" Chiaki whistled softly when they met up outside her apartment.

"Your no slouch either Chiaki, if Naru saw you wearing that I bet he'd have an aneurysm" Mai shot back with a grin, feeling pretty for once, her teasing caused Chiaki to blush before they decided to climb into Chiaki's volkswagen.

Then it was off to the club her classmates frequented "Mai is that really you" Midori gaped in surprise at how pretty her taciturn classmate could be when she put effort into her outfit like she obviously had that night.

The brunette smiled sheepishly but nodded "This is Chiaki Kasai, the friend I said I'd be bringing along, Chiaki, this is Midori one of my classmates, over there is Asahi and Erika if I'm not wrong" Mai introduced to distract Midori a bit.

Gesturing to the other women standing around chatting, just waiting on them probably to go in "Well it's nice to meet you Chiaki, Mai said that you were thinking about joining the college" Midori grinned.

A little flustered Chiaki nodded before Midori ushered the five of them into the club and over to a booth where there were already five guys waiting "Damn Midori-chan you didn't say that you'd be bringing a couple of hotties like those two this time around" one of them whistled.

Eyeing Mai up and down, Mai smiled pleasantly but didn't really encourage flirting to his disappointment so he turned his smile onto the silver haired woman with the brunette "You know the whole point of a mixer is to socialize with the opposite sex right" Asahi reminded.

When things got a bit to uncomfortable for Chiaki who wasn't use to such attention and Mai had come to the rescue by claiming she had to go to the bathroom and dragged Chiaki with her, Asahi had followed behind "I'm not interested in any of them to be honest" Mai admitted with a wince.

Asahi sighed but nodded in understanding "Me either really, want me to tell Midori it's time to ditch them and get to having some real fun" Asahi asked as Mai finished washing her hands and dried them.

"Now that sounds like an excellent idea" Chiaki chimed in, not having thought she'd be this uncomfortable and if she was uncomfortable then Mai had to be doubly so, with that they headed back out and quickly ditched the guys.

By going to an entirely different club altogether "This is where we really go on the weekends, don't tell the others, they all think the other club is our usual hotspot" Erika whispered as they secured a round booth for themselves that seated all five of them.

Followed by ordering a round of exotic non-alcoholic fruity drinks "Question time, Chiaki-chan how did you meet Mai" Asahi declared suddenly, wanting to learn more about the mysterious silver haired woman that her classmate had showed up with.

Chiaki glanced to Mai immediately for help "It was on one of our cases, for the place that I work for, we went to Chiaki's school where someone was threatening the students and actually hurting them, but our job was to find out who it was and stop it" Mai answered.

Omitting many things from her explanation "That's right and everyone was so sure that it was me who was hurting people but Mai was the first one to claim that I was innocent until they found the real culprit" Chiaki nodded.

Gratefully taking after Mai's lead on explaining things "Your job sounds kind of dangerous Mai" Erika piped in after taking a sip of her cherry-kiwi juice, surprised the nineteen year old was even opening up to them at all.

Since Mai was the type of person to keep to herself or so she and most others had thought anyway "Yeah I won't deny that, it does have the potential of being dangerous but lucky me I'm just one of the few on the team" Mai nodded.

Enjoying her blackberry-lime juice "Oh yeah, how many co-workers do you have in total Mai" Midori inquired, more curious than ever and wanting to keep Mai talking, though she got the feeling they weren't being told everything, it was enough for now.

"Well there's Naru, he's the boss, and Lin, who's Naru's assistant, Yasu who is Lin's assistant, Ayako, John, Mo…Houshou, Masako, me and Chiaki, oh there's also Madoka-san but she works for a different branch of the company" Mai ticked off her fingers.

Immediately the other three girls honed in on a familiar name "Does that mean you also work for this mysterious SPR company that Mai-chan works for as well Chiaki" Erika questioned, turning her piercing blue eyes on Chiaki.

Who nodded "Yeah during the last case they were on I was there and Sh…Naru offered me a job given that I have the skill-set he requires out of his employees" Chiaki said with a little shrug getting into the swing of things.

Midway through Mai had to go to the bathroom for real this time and hopped up like she was on fire just as her phone/tablet rang so Chiaki did the honors _"Taniyama-san where are you" _Lin's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Uh this is actually Chiaki, Mai just went to do something and we're in a club at the moment, why did something happen Lin-san" Chiaki answered with a frown, a little surprised the onmyodo practitioner was calling so late.

It was almost ten thirty making her realize the time as well _"Well when I warded Shion-san's window against intruders I never thought they'd actually break in through the front door, right now there is someone in Mai's apartment" _Lin informed.

Angry that he hadn't accounted for the other ways a break in might occur "Oh no" Chiaki gasped, alerting the other women at the table that something was very, very wrong just as Mai came traipsing back only to frown.

At that point Mai took over the conversation "Looks like we're needed, sorry Midori, Asahi, Erika because it seems like my apartment was broken into just now" Mai sighed as she hung up on Lin after assuring him that they were on their way.

The three girls gasped in horror "Go on Mai, we'll see you in class whenever you decide to join us, or we'll text you if you leave us your number" Midori shooed the brunette off, once she got Mai's number anyway.

With that both women were on their way back to Mai's apartment, the door was wide open, the lights were on and inside were Lin, Naru and someone bound effectively in ropes "So….your the peeping tom" Mai glared down at the creep who'd been scaring her daughter the past few nights.

Protective fury rising "Please this is all just a misunderstanding, I thought you were someone else and I was just trying to see if the little girl was my niece who my brother told me about" the man babbled fearfully.

"Uh-huh and we're supposed to believe this, who is your brother exactly" Naru snapped, like a grumpy crocodile at the moment that his work had been disturbed by this cretin who thought it would be a good idea to break into his employee's home.

The bound man worried his lip and eyed Mai "Tokihito Mori, I'm Akihito Mori, four years ago my brother raped a freshman/sophomore and a child was produced from the coupling" Akihito introduced/explained.

Mai's expression dropped and Naru looked to her "And why are you here Mori-san" Chiaki stepped forward, keeping a neutral expression on her face as Lin squeezed Mai's shoulder in reassurance.

A terrible feeling bubbled within her as Akihito opened his mouth "To gain custody of my niece of course, it's clear this woman is unfit to be a mother, she's irresponsible going out and partying to probably get drunk and leaving my niece who knows where with who knows who" Akihito scowled.

"I don't care what you want Mori-san, Shion is my daughter, I've raised her and like hell I'm handing her over without a fight" Mai spat, temper flaring and inwardly sighing in relief that Shion was at Michiru's so she wasn't in the middle of this unexpected insanity.

Akihito curled his mouth into a sneer "We'll see about that Taniyama-san but in the end I'll win the legal battle and take Shion away from you as she should have been when you gave birth to her to be raised with a proper family" Akihito shot back.

Chocolate irises narrowed at the challenge in his voice and she was about to argue some more but Lin headed her off "Taniyama-san….he won't win, we won't let him" Lin assured suddenly, feeling something snap inside of him.

The lid he'd slammed over his emotions for the young woman sprang open, and the tension that had built up over the past few days since learning someone was creeping around welled up in her as Mai turned and buried her face in his chest, shoulders shaking with silent sobs.

Naru gaped unattractively but not even he would have been able to turn Mai away if she'd turned to him in comfort over something threatening to take her daughter away from her "You're a real asshole you know that" Chiaki frowned down at Akihito.

"Coming in here like you think you know everything, Mai's a good mother as far as I've seen and if I have to I'll testify as one of her witnesses and I'm sure so will all the rest of the members of SPR and her college friends" Chiaki growled.

Losing control over her own emotions and she was beginning to affect things when Mai squeezed her hand in warning as she straightened up, eyes rimmed red but they blazed with sudden determination "Get out before I call the police" Mai ordered.

Untying Akihito who continued to sit there stubbornly "Not until you give me Shion, I refuse to allow her to stay another night with you" Akihito demanded like a fool until Mai crouched to get down in his face.

"Listen here you, this is my apartment that you broke into illegally might I add and you dare demand I hand over my daughter, that's not how things work Mori-san, so you better get out NOW" Mai glared forcefully.

Raising her voice on the last word "Well seems I was wrong about you Mai, you do still have a temper and it's worse than before" Chiaki snorted, attempting to lighten the situation with humor as Akihito scrambled from the small apartment like the hounds of hell were nipping at his heels.

Mai nodded decisively "In any case it's probably best not to stay here tonight in case he comes back, you two are more than welcome to come stay at the house" Naru offered wanting no more incidents to happen.

With that Mai and Chiaki packed an overnight bag each and climbed into the backseat of Lin's van where afterwards they settled in guest bedrooms after taking showers and curled up beneath the duvets of the beds for some shut eye knowing that tomorrow would only be harder.


	9. Legal Battle Brewing

Lin took Mai to pick up Shion from Michiru's the next morning to avoid the drama of going back to the apartment for the time being since Akihito was sure to be there to demand Shion from Mai again with the police probably.

"Police are most likely going to be calling you soon Mai" Naru warned as his employee set up in the guest room, and Shion was deposited in the crib to play with her doll, fortunately Mai had already anticipated this.

And was simply waiting for the phone call "Don't worry Naru, I have no intention of letting that b….Mori-san take away my daughter" Mai declared, nearly cursing but stopping in the nick of time though she still spat Akihito's last name out with clear venom in her tone.

It seemed both brothers were intent on ruining Mai's life "Even should he somehow manage to build a case against me, there's no evidence of abuse and anything he says can be turned back around on him" Mai grinned.

Glad that she was studying law so she knew her legal rights, Lin smirked behind his mug of tea "In any case I think I'll go back to my apartment keep an eye on things there from across the street" Chiaki commented.

Mai smiled kindly at her and nodded "What now, your laptop is back at your apartment isn't it" Naru frowned realizing that Mai was without the electronics he'd supplied so that she could keep her grades up.

She paused then spied her phone/tablet "Thank you Michiru, guess buying this was a good idea after all" Mai cheered, thanking her best friend for being incessant about getting the large tablet like phone.

Naru shrugged not letting on that he was a little weirded out as Mai popped the airpods into her ears and tuned in to her morning lecture on criminology, though eventually Shion got tired of being stuck in a confined space such as her crib and let out a loud wail that pierced the ears.

Making all wince even Mai who hurriedly went to deal with her daughter and in the end had to tote her back to the kitchen, three year old crying all the while "I'm sorry Naru, it's just she's use to having more room to move around" Mai apologized.

Looking tired again as she paced with Shion in her arms, bouncing the little girl up and down and rubbing her on the back to calm her as she threw a tantrum basically until finally after half an hour of screaming her head off practically Shion quieted to the soothing ministrations she was getting.

To Naru's surprise Mai had shown outstanding patience with her daughter "Go ahead and let her down Mai, just keep a close eye on her, Lin I'm heading to the office…no you stay here with them" Naru ordered.

When Lin stood intent on coming with him "Just be careful alright" Lin sighed as his charge narrowed his indigo orbs indicating he didn't want an argument, especially what with their very sensitive guest being in the near vicinity.

With that Naru was gone out the door, leaving the Taniyama's alone with Lin as one of them toddled around the kitchen, "It's recently cleaned I assure you" Lin said when he saw Mai eyeing the kitchen floor with a mix of worry and frustration.

She jumped a little at being addressed so suddenly "Oh uh right of course hehehe sorry Lin, it's mostly habit to make sure everything is clean so Shion doesn't get sick, her immune system use to be pretty weak" Mai admitted with a sheepish/wistful look on her face.

Before snapping out of her past memories to keep watch over her daughter "No worries Mai….also I thought you might like this to present as evidence against Mori-san" Lin commented sliding something towards her with a casual shrug.

That something turned out to be a tape from a camera recorder "You didn't…..you did, you recorded him breaking into my apartment" Mai grinned, glad that she had evidence to back up her claim against Akihito.

"And creeping around peering into Shion's window as well so he won't be able to lie about it, to be honest, Mori-san has gained my ire for all of this" Lin admitted lightly, deeply unsettled about the entire situation really.

Chocolate orbs widened "Wow that's pretty rare considering you don't get angry much but thank you I appreciate Lin-san" Mai pointed out with a small smile, feeling her heart flutter against her ribs and beat rapidly.

Face flushing unexpectedly she turned her gaze downwards to spy where her daughter had toddled off to and found Shion right next to Lin, stood up on her own two feet, hand tightly gripping his pants leg and a sulk on her face.

Only then did Lin seem to realize she was there himself and a sort of staring contest ensued between the two before Lin sighed and lifted Shion like she wanted into his lap, Mai nearly squealed at the sight before her eyes but stopped herself in the nick of time.

Because she didn't want to disrupt Lin as he flipped open a folder and started reading, Shion comfortable in his lap and behaving, seeing that her daughter was busy at the moment, Mai popped the airpods back into her ears to resume listening to her class lecture.

And finished right at noon, Mai was just contemplating what to make for lunch when two things happened simultaneously, one the door flung open to admit someone she hadn't seen for a long time into the house and two her phone rang.

Answering her phone was of more importance at the moment rather than greeting Madoka who stood frozen in the kitchen doorway "Hello Mai Taniyama speaking" Mai spoke into her phone glad she was already wearing the earphones.

"_Good of you to answer Taniyama-san…this is officer Ferguson down at the PD and I'm currently at your apartment with a Mr. Akihito Mori who claims you are keeping his niece from him, are you available to meet us at the bistro so that we can chat" _came the request.

Mai closed her eyes praying for strength then nodded "Yes I'm available Officer, I'll be there in half an hour as I'm currently on the other side of the city…alright see you at the bistro" Mai assured.

Smiling that the meet up place was somewhere familiar and if she wasn't wrong the boss should still be working "Mai-chan what's going on, who is that little girl and why would a police officer want to speak with you" Madoka frowned.

Lost on things that were going on since she hadn't been around for awhile or at all really so far since SPR reopened "Can the questions wait Madoka-san" Mai requested politely as she rushed around for the next five minutes preparing what she needed.

The frown on Madoka's face deepened in response as even Lin stood "Okay but I'm coming along" Madoka relented in the next moment as she followed the two back outside and Mai buckled the toddler into a car-seat that was conveniently in Lin's van.

Madoka had to hurry and start her own car in order to follow them clear across the city to a little sandwich shop right across the street from a well known college "There you are" Akihito glared when Mai entered the bistro.

Carrying Shion in her arms, he went to stand and snatch the tiny girl from her mother when Mai's old boss shuffled over and did just that rather gently "If it innit the little lass again, you behaving yourself for your mother aye, causing no trouble are ye" Desmond asked.

Swinging the toddler around carefully and making the three year old let out ear bursting squeals "Behave" Shion giggled infectiously, drawing a smile onto the half Japanese/Irish restaurant owners face.

"Good, don't want to hear of you causing trouble alright lassie…..I take it she'll be having the peas with purple carrots and beets and applesauce sides with milk again right" then Desmond turned his attention on his former employee as he handed Shion back to the young woman.

Who cradled her daughter against her chest "Yes Sir, I'll take the special today with Pink Hibiscus tea again" Mai nodded, eyeing the officer with Akihito who tilted his head to her in greeting, more polite than Akihito that's for sure.

As soon as Lin and Madoka had ordered and sat at a different table, Mai joined the police officer and Akihito at their table "Give me my niece" Akihito demanded instantly but was ignored as Mai set the little girl in one of the supplied high chairs.

Then snapped the little table in place "So Taniyama-san hows your hangover" Akihito sneered, Mai felt anger boil in her veins at the accusation that he was spitting at her but a quick look at Lin for some reason calmed her.

"Actually I didn't have one because I don't drink Mori-san, nor would I ever, especially around Shion" Mai informed decisively, crossing her arms and waiting patiently for her order to arrive like the two at her table still were.

Officer Ferguson was silent for the time being and watching the interactions with keen eyes "Right sure whatever, you won't be able to keep up the innocent act for much longer" Akihito scoffed disbelievingly.

Just then their orders came and Shion happily dug in to her vegetables "Taniyama-san, Mori-san told me that you were out last night, may I ask where" the officer finally spoke, launching into the first of many prepared questions.

"With friends and classmates at a club" Mai answered honestly after taking a bite of her toasted sandwich, cursing inwardly when Akihito smiled smugly and mocked her about drinking yet again even though she hadn't drank any alcohol.

Imagine her surprise when the officer shot him a warning look "Can you prove that you weren't drinking Ms. Taniyama" Ferguson requested, Mai gave him the number to the two clubs she visited last night.

And enjoyed her lunch while he spoke with the club owners, steadfastly ignoring Akihito at the same time "Alright thanks for confirming that for me" Ferguson hung up a moment later after speaking with the second club owner.

"It appears you were telling the truth, blackberry-lime fruit juice was it, my wife happens to enjoy that particular combo herself, in any case, seeing as Taniyama-san wasn't breaking any laws in going out to have fun, I turn my next question on you Mr. Mori" the officer frowned.

Clearly disappointed in the man for blatantly lying "But what about Shion, she was with who knows who while this slag ran around with men to probably get herself knocked up again" Akihito sneered obviously unwilling to concede.

Mai rolled her eyes after sending him a particular vicious glare for cussing in front of her daughter who chose that moment to burst into loud crying from the hostility being directed at her mother "Ahh Shion it's okay" Mai soothed.

Extricating her from the high chair but Shion wouldn't stop crying this time "See there she can't even get the girl to calm down, hand Shion to me and I'll show you exactly why I'd be a better person to raise her" Akihito demanded.

The situation was all together handled in the next moment by Lin who came over exuding a calming aura and the three year old's wailing quickly abated "For the record I wouldn't trust you with my daughter in a million years" Mai informed.

Reaching into her hand bag for the recording that Lin had given "Why is that Ms. Taniyama" Officer Ferguson questioned, curious about the thing that she handed him and it turned out to be a tape recording from a camera recorder.

"Because what Mori-san failed to mention probably is that for the past three nights he was sneaking around peering into Shion's window which scared her so much that she didn't even want to sleep in her own room and last night he actually broke into my apartment" Mai declared.

Daring Akihito to lie his way out of this one, especially when he went to do just that but Officer Ferguson held up his hand "Excuse me while I go review this tape" the officer excused himself from the bistro.

Not having thought things would turn on its head so quickly "Here Mai why don't you finish eating, I'll hold her in the meantime" Lin offered, swallowing his pride, though he felt a profound smug feeling well up in him as Akihito glared at him.

When Shion was settled comfortably against his chest, face buried in his neck "Oh my and here I thought you weren't a fan of children yet look at you now, you're a proud papa aren't you" Madoka teased once Lin had sat at their table again.

Prompting an eye roll from the onmyodo practitioner "I'm not, however Taniyama-san is stressed enough and I promised whenever she needed it that I'd watch after Shion-san, she is not mine" Lin deadpanned to Shion's amusement.

As she attempted to blow out his hearing for the second time with a loud squeal "What but Mai-chan….you better tell me what's going on Koujo or else" Madoka frowned, but Lin shook his head and she was starting to get a little irritated.

Officer Ferguson chose that moment to return, cuffs in his hand "Up you go Mori, for illegally breaking and entering an apartment and attempting to threaten a woman into handing her child over to you your under arrest come on" Ferguson snapped the cuffs on Akihito's wrists.

Akihito was rightly upset "Don't think that this is the end of things Taniyama, I will get Shion and you'll never see her again as long as I live" Akihito threatened as he was dragged away leaving behind a deathly silent bistro.

Mai promptly freaked, feeling stares boring into her and hastily paid for her and Shion's meal then skedaddled with Lin and Madoka on her heels "Okay Mai start explaining" Madoka requested once they were seated around the table at Naru and Lin's place again.

Shion toddling about on the floor "I was raped Madoka-san, by Mori-san's older brother Tokihito and now their trying to turn my life into a living nightmare again" Mai sighed, unable to recount the true harrowing tale.

"Would it really be so bad to give Shion to him then….if your working all the time how are you able to even take care of her, what your daughter needs is a stable environment" Madoka frowned, thinking that it would be better for the little girl to go with her uncle.

Lin wanted to sigh in the next moment as Mai sort of withdrew into herself "Madoka, that was incredibly insensitive, think about how you would feel if someone told you to hand over your child to someone who's trying to take them away from you out of spite" Lin frowned.

Madoka went to say something else but was interrupted "Even if I wanted to I couldn't Madoka-san, Shion is special, they wouldn't understand her powers" Mai added, looking like she'd been physically hurt.

Just talking about that time or even giving up her daughter to someone else hurt like nothing else ever hurt "Shion is a spiritualist but you yourself have barely any power, how could you have passed any on to your daughter" Madoka questioned.

"Not true, after the incident they grew, and I believe that Shion is more powerful than me at her current age" Mai admitted quietly, Madoka was instantly reminded of a pair of twins as she looked at the tiny three year old padding about.

For awhile no one spoke and Mai went so far as to try to listen to her second lecture of the day while keeping an extremely close eye on Shion who was more than happy to roam around where she wasn't so restricted in her crib.

Until Shion got tired "Time for a nap huh" Mai chuckled when her daughter latched onto her leg and stood up peering at her with demanding tired brown eyes so it was off to the guest room so that Shion could rest for awhile.

Eventually Naru returned to the house and Mai decided to head back to her own apartment though she took extra precautions that night by putting a chair in front of the door, just as Mai was sitting down for dinner Chiaki called.

Obviously wanting the details of what had happened after she'd left _"So what happened Mai…is Shion going to be taken away from you" _Chiaki asked impatiently after Mai had answered her phone/tablet.

Thankfully she got some good news "Doubtful, especially after the evidence presented, apparently Lin-san set up a cam recorder and recorded him sneaking around and breaking in last night so the officer arrested him" Mai explained.

Chiaki was surprised at that _"I'm not even going to ask because I feel like you wouldn't be able to answer but still I can't believe Lin-san thought that far ahead with things" _Chiaki commented, having seen the budding feelings developing between the two.

Though it seemed like both parties were oblivious or so she thought anyway "Me either but I'm glad for it, Lin-san has been amazing since SPR opened back up and even should that a…should Mori-san take me to court I have no doubt he lose" Mai chattered.

It was then Chiaki realized that Mai wasn't as oblivious as she thought which meant neither was Lin but it wasn't her responsibility to tell the two that they were starting to fall for one another _"Right, I'll see you tomorrow morning for work then"_ Chiaki said.

Deciding to hang up for the night so that Mai could eat dinner in peace "Yeah absolutely Chiaki and one of these days I swear I'll introduce you to Michiru but right now I kinda want to keep Shion close so she'll be coming with us tomorrow" Mai informed.

Hanging up where she continued eating her supper, then carefully extricated a sleepy Shion from her highchair to clean up for bedtime and like clockwork once Shion was asleep in her room, Mai settled on the couch to do her homework before going to bed a little before midnight.


End file.
